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Linear Search

This document discusses linear search algorithms, including iterative and recursive implementations. It provides pseudocode for linear search functions and examples of using them to search arrays for a given key value. Linear search is simple to implement but not efficient for large data sets as every element must be checked.

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Mehar Faizan
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26 views6 pages

Linear Search

This document discusses linear search algorithms, including iterative and recursive implementations. It provides pseudocode for linear search functions and examples of using them to search arrays for a given key value. Linear search is simple to implement but not efficient for large data sets as every element must be checked.

Uploaded by

Mehar Faizan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Data Structures

with
C++
Sequential/Linear Search
• A search algorithm finds a specified item (key) among a given collection (e.g. array/linked list).
• Sequential/linear search systematically enumerates all possible candidates in the given collection and
compares them with the specified key.
• We start from first element in the collection, and visit each element to see if it matches the key.
• The elements in the given list may not follow any relative ordering (sorted or unsorted).
• Linear Search is:
- simple to implement
- complete (will always find a solution if one exists)
- typically used when the underlying data structure (linked list/array) or the relative ordering of the
elements (sorted/unsorted) is not specified
Iterative Linear Search
Linear Search: Given a list of n elements find whether a given element (key) exists in the list

01 void linearSearch(a[], int l, int r, int key) {


02 for (int i = l; i <= r; i++) {
03 if (a[i] == key)
04 return i;
05 return -1;
06 }

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
a 31 67 59 43 71 48 54
= 71
key 71 71 71 71 71
Recursive Linear Search
Linear Search: Given a list of n elements find whether a given element (key) exists in the list

01 int linearSearch( a[], int l, int r, int key) {


02 if (l > r) return -1;
03 if (a[l] == key) return l;
04 return linearSearch(a, l + 1, r, key);
05 } ❸ 2nd Recursive Call
linearSearch
= 72 a = {76, 67, 72, 81, 49}
key l =2 Base case
r =4 returns l = 2
❷ 1st Recursive Call key = 72
0 1 2 3 4
a 76 67 72 81 49 linearSearch linearSearch
a = {76, 67, 72, 81, 49} a = {76, 67, 72, 81, 49}
l =1 l =1
r =4 r =4
❶ Initial Call key = 72 key = 72

linearSearch linearSearch linearSearch


a = {76, 67, 72, 81, 49} a = {76, 67, 72, 81, 49} a = {76, 67, 72, 81, 49}
l =0 l =0 l =0
r =4 r =4 r =4
key = 72 key = 72 key = 72

Stack Stack Stack


Testing our code
01 int main() { `
02 int a[] = {31, 67, 59, 43, 71, 48, 54}, key = 71;
03 int pos = linearSearch(a, 0, 6, key);
04

05 if (pos == -1)
06 cout << key << " NOT found" << endl;
07 else
08 cout << key << " found at index " << pos << endl;
09 return 0;
10 }

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