Searching algorithms

• What is linear search?

  a searching algorithm which can search a sorted or unsorted list
• What is an ideal scenario for linear search?

  The data set is small and unordered
• Why could linear search be inefficient?

  If the item to be found is at the end of the data set, it would have to look through all the data before the item to find it
• In the worst case scenario for linear search, what is it's time complexity?

  o(n) - when the item is the last one in the list with n being the number of items in the list
• In the best case scenario for linear search, what is it's time complexity?

  o(1) - when the item is the first one in the list
• What is the overall time-complexity for linear search and why?

  O(n) because as the data set grows, more searching must be performed
• What is binary search?

  A searching algorithim which starts at the middle item of a list and repeatedly divides the list in half
• What is a disadvantage of binary search ?

  • Needs the list to be sorted before searching
• What is an advantage of binary search?

  • Is efficient for large datasets unlike linear search