Search Algorithms

Overview

In this lesson, I learned how the binary search algorithm works to find information efficiently and elegantly.

There were two components to this lesson:

1. myGA module: Search Algorithms
2. In-Class Exercise: Implementing Binary Search

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Understand the Big O complexities of brute force and binary search approaches.
• Describe how binary search works.
• Write a binary search algorithm to find a value in an array.

Prerequisites

• Big O Notation
• Recursion
• Intro to Sorting Algorithms

Duration

1.5 hours total:

• 0.5 hour myGA
• 1 hour in class
• Many many hours outside of class

Additional Resources

• Check out this article that outlines common interview questions related to binary search.
• More thoughts on how binary search appears in job interviews.
• Algorithmic folk dancers, this time with search!