Searching Algorithms

Searching algorithms are methods used to locate a specific piece of data within a larger collection of data. Two common searching algorithms are linear search and binary search.

Linear search, also known as sequential search, is a simple searching algorithm that starts at the first element of a collection and compares each element to the target item. If the element matches the target, the search is complete. If not, the search moves to the next element until the target is found or the end of the collection is reached.

The time complexity of linear search is O(n), where n is the number of elements in the collection. This means that, on average, the search will take n/2 comparisons to find the target item. The space complexity of linear search is O(1), as it only requires a single variable to storeThe stage where the CPU saves the result of the execution back into memory or registers. the current element being compared.

Binary search, on the other hand, is a more efficient searching algorithm that can only be used on sorted collections. The algorithm starts by finding the middle element of the collection and comparing it to the target item. If the middle element is the target, the search is complete. If the target is smaller than the middle element, the search continues on the left half of the collection. If the target is larger than the middle element, the search continues on the right half of the collection. This process is repeated until the target is found or the search reaches an empty collection.

The time complexity of binary search is O(log n), where n is the number of elements in the collection. This means that, on average, the search will take log(n) comparisons to find the target item. The space complexity of binary search is also O(1), as it only requires a single variable to store the current middle element.