What are the major differences between linear searches and binary searches.

devquora
devquora

Posted On: Jan 12, 2023

 

The major differences between linear searches and binary searches are - 

Linear search: 

Linear search checks each element in the data set in sequence, starting from the first element, until it finds the element it is looking for. It is also called sequential search. It has a time complexity of O(n) where n is the number of elements in the data set. It is simple to implement and can be used with any type of data set, but it is not efficient for large data sets.

Binary search:

Binary search is used on a sorted data set and it works by dividing the data set in half and checking whether the element it is looking for is in the first half or the second half. It then continues to divide the half that contains the element in question and checks again, until it finds the element. It has a time complexity of O(log n) which is much faster than linear search for large data sets. The downside is that the data set needs to be sorted and it is only applicable for numerical or string data that can be ordered.

In summary, Linear search is simpler to implement, but less efficient for large data sets. While binary search is more efficient for large data sets, but requires the data set to be sorted and is only applicable for ordered data.

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