Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 October 29

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From today's featured article

A binary search algorithm is a method to determine the position of a target value within a sorted array (an ordered list). Binary search compares the target value to the middle element of the array. If they are not equal, the half in which the target cannot lie is eliminated and the search continues on the remaining half, again taking the middle element to compare to the target value, and so on. If the remaining half at any stage is found to be empty, then the target is not in the array. Even though the idea is simple, implementing binary search correctly requires attention to some subtleties about its exit conditions and midpoint calculation. Binary search runs in logarithmic time in the worst case. It is faster than linear search except for small arrays, but the array must be sorted first. Although specialized data structures designed for fast searching, such as hash tables, can be searched more efficiently, binary search applies to a wider range of problems. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

A lake in the Oasis of Mosquitos

... that the volcanic Oasis of Mosquitoes in the Sahara has multicoloured lakes (example pictured) and can be seen from space?
... that Anne Patzwald works as an occupational therapist at a clinic that employs three other current or former members of the German women's wheelchair basketball national team?
... that the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiser Franz Joseph I sank during a gale in October 1919?
... that military officer Francisco Javier Arana, who briefly ruled Guatemala as part of a three-person junta, was subsequently killed in a shootout after threatening a coup?
... that Max Reger composed 20 Responsories in English for use in the American Lutheran church, although he did not speak English?
... that when Mexican suspected drug lord Raúl Meza Ontiveros was arrested, police found 348 kilograms (767 lb) of cocaine in his possession?
... that the Oregon Military Museum has more than 14,000 artifacts in its collection, including 50 vehicles, 750 weapons, and 5 military aircraft?
... that Renee Powell was the first female golfer to compete in a British men's tournament?

In the news

Steve Pearce

Lion Air Flight 610 crashes off the coast of Java, with 189 people on board.
In baseball, the Boston Red Sox win the World Series (MVP Steve Pearce pictured).
A shooting at a synagogue kills 11 people in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
Typhoon Yutu becomes the strongest tropical cyclone on record to impact the Mariana Islands.
Sahle-Work Zewde becomes the first female President of Ethiopia.
Tropical Storm Vicente and Hurricane Willa impact Mexico, causing at least 20 deaths.

On this day

October 29

Sir Walter Raleigh

1618 – English courtier and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (pictured) was executed in London after King James I reinstated a fifteen-year-old death sentence against him.
1787 – The opera Don Giovanni, based on Don Juan, the legendary fictional libertine, and composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered in the Estates Theatre in Prague.
1948 – Arab–Israeli War: As the Israel Defense Forces captured the Palestinian Arab village of Safsaf, they massacred at least 52 villagers.
1998 – At 77 years old as a crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-95 mission, John Glenn became the oldest person to go to space.
2015 – China announced the abolition of its one-child policy, allowing families to have two children instead.

Marie of Romania (b. 1875) · Diana Serra Cary (b. 1918) · Carlos Guastavino (d. 2000)

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From today's featured list

Tove Lo

The discography of Swedish singer and songwriter Tove Lo includes three studio albums, one extended play (EP), and twenty-two singles (including nine as a featured artist). Lo started her career as the lead singer and songwriter in math rock band Tremblebee from 2006 until 2009. In 2013, she self-released "Habits", which received positive feedback from music blogs and led her to sign a record deal with Universal Music Group. Her first EP, Truth Serum, was released the following year. A remixed version of "Habits", re-titled as "Stay High", peaked at number 13 in Sweden and reached the top ten of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Lo's debut album, Queen of the Clouds, was released that same year, peaking at number six in Sweden and number 14 on the US Billboard 200. "Habits" was re-issued as "Habits (Stay High)" and released as the lead single from the record, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2016, the singer released her second studio album, Lady Wood, which topped the albums chart in Sweden and peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200. The next year, Lo released her third studio album, Blue Lips, which peaked at number 15 in Sweden. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Yacine Brahimi (pictured in green on right) is a French-born Algerian professional footballer who plays for FC Porto and the Algeria national team. Born in Paris to Algerian parents and raised in Montreuil, Brahimi was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy in 2003. Despite being courted by several French and European clubs, following his stint at Clairefontaine, he signed a youth contract with Rennes. After turning professional, Brahimi was loaned out to second division club Clermont Foot. While at Clermont, he had a successful individual 2009–10 season. After spending the previous season there on loan, he moved to the La Liga club Granada CF in 2013, and then to Porto for €6.5 million one year later. Having played for France at youth and under-21 level, Brahimi switched his allegiance to Algeria in 2013. He went on to represent them at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 African Cup of Nations. Brahimi is shown here playing for Algeria in a May 2014 friendly, attacking against Taron Voskanyan of Armenia.

Photograph: Clément Bucco-Lechat

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