OCR Computer Science AS Level

2.3.1 Searching Algorithms

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Specification:

● Standard algorithms
○ Binary search
○ Linear search

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 Searching Algorithms

Searching algorithms are used to​ find a specified element ​within a data structure. For
example, a searching algorithm could be used to find the name “Alan Turing” in an array of
names.

Numerous different searching algorithms exist, each of which is ​suited to a particular data
structure ​of​ format of data​.

Binary Search
The binary search algorithm can only be applied on ​sorted data ​and works by finding the
middle element ​in a list of data before deciding ​which side ​of the data the desired element
is to be found in. The unwanted half of the data is then ​discarded ​and the process
repeated ​until the desired element is ​found ​or until it is known that the desired element
doesn’t exist ​in the data.

Pseudocode for binary search is shown below.

A =
​ Array of data
x =
​ Desired element
 
low = 0 
high = A.length -1 
while low <= high: 
mid = (low + high) / 2 
if A[mid] == x: 
return mid 
else if A[mid] > x: 
high = mid -1 
else: 
low = mid + 1 
endif 
endwhile 
return “Not found in data” 

With each iteration of binary search, ​half of the input data ​is discarded, making the
algorithm very ​efficient​.

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Example 1
Find the location of “Dylan” in the data below.

0  1  2  3  4  5  6 

Bob Charlie Dylan Ellie Franz Gabbie Hugo

To start with, our values for high and low and 6 and 0 respectively.
The first step is to find the middle position. In this case, it’s ​(0 + 6) / 2 = ​
3​.
Next we inspect the data in position 3: Ellie. This is higher than the desired data and so we
discard elements 3-6, setting high as 2.

0  1  2  3  4  5  6 

Bob Charlie Dylan Ellie Franz Gabbie Hugo

Again, we calculate the value of the middle position. This time it’s ​(0 + 2) / 2 = ​ 1​
.
Inspecting the data at this position we find Charlie, which is lower than the data we’re
looking for. We now set low to 2, discarding items 0 to 1.

0  1  2  3  4  5  6 

Bob Charlie Dylan Ellie Franz Gabbie Hugo

Calculating the middle position, we have ​(2 + 2) / 2 = ​ 2​

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Example 2
Look at how the algorithm finds the letter R in the first 20 characters of the alphabet. It’s
clear from this example that the algorithm halves the remaining data to be searched with
each iteration, gradually reducing the size of the problem to be solved.

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T 

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T 

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T 

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T 

Linear Search
Linear search is the​ most basic ​searching algorithm. You can think of it as going along a
bookshelf one by one until you come across the book you’re looking for. Sometimes the
algorithm​ gets lucky ​and finds the desired element almost ​immediately​, while in other
situations, the algorithm is ​incredibly inefficient​.

There’s a lot of ​pot luck ​involved with linear search, but it’s incredibly ​easy to implement​.
Unlike binary search, linear search doesn’t require the data to be sorted.
 
Example 1
Find the position of Apple in the data.
0  1  2  3  4 

Banana Orange Apple Kiwi Mango

First we inspect position 0, and find Banana. Not the element we’re after.
0  1  2  3  4 

Banana Orange Apple Kiwi Mango

Next we inspect position 1, finding Orange. Again, not what we’re looking for.
0  1  2  3  4 

Banana Orange Apple Kiwi Mango

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Next we look at position 2 and find Apple, this is the data we’re looking for and so the
algorithm returns 2 and terminates.
Example 2
Look at how this algorithm finds the letter R in the first 20 characters of the alphabet and
compare it to binary search above. It’s clear from this example that the algorithm is much
less efficient than binary search.

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