Searching Algorithms Questions Long
Exponential search is a searching algorithm that is used to find a specific element in a sorted array. It is an improvement over the traditional linear search algorithm, as it reduces the number of comparisons required to find the target element.
The concept of exponential search involves two main steps:
1. Determining the range: In this step, the algorithm determines an appropriate range in which the target element might be present. It starts with a small range, typically the first element of the array, and keeps doubling the range until the element at the current index is greater than or equal to the target element. This step is similar to a binary search, but instead of dividing the range in half, it doubles the range.
2. Performing a binary search: Once the range is determined, a binary search is performed within that range to find the exact position of the target element. The binary search algorithm compares the target element with the middle element of the range and narrows down the search by halving the range in each iteration until the target element is found or the range becomes empty.
The exponential search algorithm has a time complexity of O(log n), where n is the size of the array. This makes it more efficient than a linear search, especially for large arrays. However, it requires the array to be sorted in ascending order for the algorithm to work correctly.
In summary, exponential search is a searching algorithm that combines the concepts of exponential growth and binary search to efficiently find a specific element in a sorted array. It reduces the number of comparisons required and has a time complexity of O(log n).