subsequence length by Hammersley. A.S.C. Ross and independently Robert W. Floyd recognized it as a sorting algorithm. Initial analysis was done by Mallows. Floyd's game was developed by Floyd in correspondence with Donald Knuth. Use The patience sorting algorithm can be applied to process control. Within a series of measurements, the existence of a long increasing subsequence can be used as a trend marker. A 2002 article in SQL Server magazine includes a SQL implementation, in this context, of the patience sorting algorithm for the length of the longest increasing subsequence. References Comparison sorts Patience games Sorting algorithms