When implementing quicksort, if the array contains lots of duplicates, it may be better to...

When implementing quicksort, if the array contains lots of duplicates, it may be better to perform a three-way partition (into elements less than, equal to, and greater than the pivot), to make smaller recursive calls. Assume three-way comparisons, as provided by the compareTo method.

a. Give an algorithm that performs a three-way in-place partition of an N-element subarray using only N − 1 three-way comparisons. If there are d items equal to the pivot, you may use d additional Comparable swaps, above and beyond the two-way partitioning algorithm. (Hint: As i and j move toward each other, maintain five groups of elements as shown below):

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b. Prove that using the algorithm above, sorting an N-element array that contains only d different values, takes O(dN) time.