Search Algorithm KO

Algorithms Linear Search Algorithm

Searching ________ The purpose of the linear search algorithm is to find a target item within a list.

Example

Binary search in operation to find 81

what is the purpose of linear search algorithms?

The purpose of the linear search algorithm is to find a target item
within a list.

Summarise the method of a linear search algorithm

The linear search algorithm compares each list item one-by-one against the target until the match has been found and returns the position of the item in the list.

Summarise the method of a binary search algorithm

The binary search algorithm works on a sorted list by identifying
the middle value in the list and comparing it with the search
item.

What are the advantages of a linear search?

• Very simple algorithm and easy to implement
• No sorting required
• Good for short lists

What are the disadvantages of a linear search?

• slow because it searchers through the whole list
• very inefficient for long lists

What is the advantage of a binary search?

a binary search is much quicker than linear search, because it halves the search zone each step

What is the disadvantage of a binary search?

in a binary search, the list needs to be ordered