CSE214: Algorithms
Searching Algorithms
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Today’s Contents
• Different Types of Algorithms Algorithm?
• Searching Algorithms
• Complexity Analysis of Searching Algorithms
• Questions for You!
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Algorithms we are going to study
1. Searching Algorithms
2. Sorting Algorithms
3. Greedy Approaches
4. Dynamic Programming
5. Graph Algorithms
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Searching Algorithms
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Searching Algorithms
▪ Search for a target data from a data set.
▪ Searching Algorithms are designed to check for an
element or retrieve an element from any data structure
where it is stored.
▪ Two possible outcomes
▪ Target data is Found (Success)
▪ Target data is not Found (Failure)
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Types of Searching Algorithms
▪ Based on the type of search operation, two popular
algorithms available:
1. Linear Search / Sequential Search
2. Binary Search
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1. Linear Search
▪ It is also known as Sequential Search
▪ Linear search is a very basic and simple search algorithm.
▪ The data list or array is traversed sequentially and every
element is checked.
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Simulation of Linear Search
Check each and every data in the list till the desired element
or value is found.
Suppose, we want to search 33 from the given array, Searching
will start from the first index and stop searching if the data is
found or the list is over.
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Algorithm of Linear Search
Algorithm:
i = 1 flag = FALSE
while i <= n && Z != X[i] for i = 1 to n
do if A[i] == key
i = i+1
flag = TRUE;
if i < n then
FOUND if flag == TRUE
else FOUND
NOT FOUND else
NOT FOUND
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Complexity Analysis of Linear Search
Algorithm:
flag = FALSE
for i = 1 to n
if A[i] == key
flag = TRUE;
• Best case: O(1)
if flag == TRUE
FOUND
• Worst Case: O(n)
else
NOT FOUND
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Features of Linear Search Algorithm
▪ It is used for unsorted and unordered small list of
elements.
▪ It has a time complexity of O(n), which means the time is
linearly dependent on the number of elements, which is
not bad, but not that good too.
▪ It has a very simple implementation.
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2. Binary Search
▪ Binary Search is used with sorted array or list.
▪ In binary search, we follow the following steps:
– We start by comparing the element to be searched with the element in the
middle of the list/array.
– If we get a match, we return the index of the middle element.
– If we do not get a match, we check whether the element to be searched is less
or greater than in value than the middle element.
– If the element/number to be searched is greater in value than the middle
number, then we pick the elements on the right side of the middle element (as
the list/array is sorted, hence on the right, we will have all the numbers greater
than the middle number), and start again from the step 1.
– If the element/number to be searched is lesser in value than the middle number,
then we pick the elements on the left side of the middle element, and start again
from the step 1. 12
Basic Idea of Binary Search
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Simulation of Binay Search
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Algorithm of Binary Search
low = 1 //[Start position]
Algorithm:
high = n //[Last position]
flag = false
while low <= high and flag = = false do
mid = (l+h) / 2
Xm = A[mid]
case:
Xm < Z : low = mid + 1
Xm > Z : high = mid - 1
Xm = = Z : flag = true
if flag = = true
FOUND
else
NOT FOUND
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Search 55 mid
mid low mid low
low = 0
high = n-1
flag = false
while low <= high and flag = = false do
Step-1: mid = (low + high ) / 2 = (0 + 8) /2 = 4
mid = (low +high) / 2
A[mid] = 45 < 55
Xm = A[mid]
low = mid + 1 = 5
case:
Xm < Z : low = mid
+1
Xm > Z : high = mid Step-2: mid = (low + high ) / 2 = (5 + 8) /2 = 6
-1 A[mid] = 51 < 55
Xm = = Z : flag = true low = mid + 1 = 7
if flag = = true
Step-3: mid = (low + high ) / 2 = (7 + 8) /2 = 7
FOUND
A[mid] = 55 == 55
else
NOT FOUND found
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Complexity Analysis of Binary Search
• Best case:
• Worst Case:
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Features of Binary Search
▪ It is great to search through large sorted arrays.
▪ It has a time complexity of O(log n) which is a very good
time complexity.
▪ It has also a simple implementation.
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Complexity Analysis of Two Algorithms
Algorithm Best case Worst case
Linear search O(1) O(N)
Binary search O(1) O(log N)
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Try to answer!
• If we have an array of length 70000000 but sorted, which
searching algorithm will work fast and why??
• Which Searching Algorithm is followed to search any data
from a Dictionary?
• Search item 75 using binary search algorithm from the
following list.
A= [22, 3, 127, 515, 163, 69, 75, 88, 96, 10]
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Try to answer!
Search 30 from the list using Binary Search. Show
each step.
10 15 21 25 30 40 51 60
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Thank you!
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