cutandinsert

Cutandinsert, sometimes written cut-and-insert, is a sequence manipulation operation used in editing, data processing, and algorithmic contexts. It relocates a contiguous block of elements by removing it from its original position and inserting it at a new position, without altering the contents of the block itself. When the operation is performed within the same sequence, it is often referred to as a block move.

Formally, for a sequence S, choose a contiguous block S[i..j] and a target position k. Remove S[i..j] to obtain S', then insert the block at position k in S', producing a new sequence. If the target lies inside the removed region, adjustments are required to define the exact result. Cutandinsert is a single primitive that can be composed with other edits, such as additional cuts or inserts, to realize complex reordering.

Applications of cutandinsert span several domains. In text editing and word processors, it models the common user action of cutting a segment of text and pasting it elsewhere. In data transformation, it enables reordering of fields or records without mutation of content. In computational biology and genome rearrangement studies, cutandinsert captures models of segmental relocations, contributing to theoretical analyses of permutation distances and sorting by block moves. In algorithm design, it serves as a basic operation in problems involving sequence reconfiguration and edit distances with move operations.

Related concepts include cut and paste in general, block moves or block transpositions, and edit distances that incorporate moves.