Insertion Sort in F#

Published on 08 April 2026 (Updated: 08 April 2026)

Welcome to the Insertion Sort in F# page! Here, you'll find the source code for this program as well as a description of how the program works.

Current Solution

open System

module InsertionSort =
    let rec private insert sorted x =
        match sorted with
        | [] -> [ x ]                                // Insert at end
        | head :: tail when x <= head -> x :: sorted // Found spot
        | head :: tail -> head :: insert tail x      // Keep traversing

    let run numbers =
        numbers |> List.fold insert [] |> List.map string |> String.concat ", " |> Ok

module Result =
    let toOption =
        function
        | Ok x -> Some x
        | Error _ -> None

module Helpers =
    let private (|IntList|_|) (s: string) =
        let ns =
            s.Split(',', StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries)
            |> Array.toList
            |> List.map (fun p ->
                match Int32.TryParse(p.Trim()) with
                | true, n -> Ok n
                | false, _ -> Error $"Invalid integer: '{p}'")
            |> List.choose Result.toOption

        if ns.Length >= 2 then Some ns else None

    let parseArgs argv =
        match argv with
        | [| IntList numbers |] -> Ok numbers
        | _ -> Error "Usage: please provide a list of at least two integers to sort in the format \"1, 2, 3, 4, 5\""

    let handleResult =
        function
        | Ok result ->
            printfn "%s" result
            0
        | Error msg ->
            eprintfn "%s" msg
            1

[<EntryPoint>]
let main argv =
    argv
    |> Helpers.parseArgs
    |> Result.bind InsertionSort.run
    |> Helpers.handleResult

Insertion Sort in F# was written by:

If you see anything you'd like to change or update, please consider contributing.

How to Implement the Solution

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How to Run the Solution

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