Searching Algorithms

1. Linear Search

2. Binary Search

Linear Search Implementation

public class LinearSearch {
    public static  int linearSearch(T[] array, T target) {
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            if (array[i].equals(target)) {
                return i;
            }
        }
        return -1;
    }

    // Generic linear search with custom comparator
    public static  int linearSearch(
            T[] array, 
            T target, 
            Comparator comparator) {
        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
            if (comparator.compare(array[i], target) == 0) {
                return i;
            }
        }
        return -1;
    }
}

Binary Search Implementation

public class BinarySearch {
    public static > int binarySearch(T[] array, T target) {
        int left = 0;
        int right = array.length - 1;

        while (left <= right) {
            int mid = left + (right - left) / 2;
            int comparison = array[mid].compareTo(target);

            if (comparison == 0) {
                return mid;
            } else if (comparison < 0) {
                left = mid + 1;
            } else {
                right = mid - 1;
            }
        }
        return -1;
    }

    // Recursive implementation
    public static > int binarySearchRecursive(
            T[] array, T target, int left, int right) {
        if (left > right) {
            return -1;
        }

        int mid = left + (right - left) / 2;
        int comparison = array[mid].compareTo(target);

        if (comparison == 0) {
            return mid;
        } else if (comparison < 0) {
            return binarySearchRecursive(array, target, mid + 1, right);
        } else {
            return binarySearchRecursive(array, target, left, mid - 1);
        }
    }
}

Guided Practice

For additional hands-on practice and detailed exercises on searching algorithms, check out our comprehensive guided project:

• Guided Project: Searching Algorithms