Searching Algorithms Questions
Binary search is a searching algorithm that is used to find a specific target value within a sorted array or list. It works by repeatedly dividing the search space in half until the target value is found or determined to be not present.
The algorithm starts by comparing the target value with the middle element of the array. If they are equal, the search is successful and the index of the target value is returned. If the target value is smaller than the middle element, the search continues in the lower half of the array. Conversely, if the target value is larger, the search continues in the upper half of the array.
This process is repeated until the target value is found or the search space is reduced to zero. If the target value is not present in the array, the algorithm will eventually determine this when the search space becomes empty.
Binary search has a time complexity of O(log n), where n is the number of elements in the array. This makes it an efficient searching algorithm for large sorted arrays.