Median of two Sorted Arrays of Different Sizes
Last Updated : 27 Apr, 2025
Given two sorted arrays, a[] and b[], the task is to find the median of these sorted arrays. Assume that the two sorted arrays are merged and then median is selected from the combined array.
This is an extension of Median of two sorted arrays of equal size problem. Here we handle arrays of unequal size also.
Examples:
Input: a[] = [-5, 3, 6, 12, 15], b[] = [-12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10]
Output: 3
Explanation: The merged array is [-12, -10, -6, -5 , -3, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 15]. So the median of the merged array is 3.
Input: a[] = [1, 12, 15, 26, 38], b[] = [2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60]
Output: The median is 17.
Explanation : The merged array is [1, 2, 12, 13, 15, 17, 26, 30, 38, 45, 60]. So the median of the merged array is 17.
Input: a[] = [], b[] = [2, 4, 5, 6]
Output: The median is 4.5
Explanation: The merged array is [2, 4, 5, 6]. The total number of elements are even, so there are two middle elements. Take the average between the two: (4 + 5) / 2 = 4.5
[Naive Approach] Using Sorting – O((n + m) * log (n + m)) Time and O(n + m) Space
The idea is to concatenate both the arrays into a new array, sort the new array and return the middle of the new sorted array.
Illustration:
a[] = [ -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 ], b[] = [ -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 ]
- After concatenating them in a third array: c[] = [ -5, 3, 6, 12, 15, -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10]
- Sort c[] = [ -12, -10, -6, -5, -3, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 15 ]
- As the length of c[] is odd, so the median is the middle element = 3
C++ // C++ Code to find Median of two Sorted Arrays of // Different Sizes using Sorting #include <iostream> #include <vector> #include <algorithm> using namespace std; double medianOf2(vector<int>& a, vector<int>& b) { // Merge both the arrays vector<int> c(a.begin(), a.end()); c.insert(c.end(), b.begin(), b.end()); // Sort the concatenated array sort(c.begin(), c.end()); int len = c.size(); // If length of array is even if (len % 2 == 0) return (c[len / 2] + c[len / 2 - 1]) / 2.0; // If length of array is odd else return c[len / 2]; } int main() { vector<int> a = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; vector<int> b = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; cout << medianOf2(a, b) << endl; return 0; }
C // C Code to find Median of two Sorted Arrays of // Different Sizes using Sorting #include <stdio.h> // Function to compare two integers for qsort int compare(const void *a, const void *b) { return (*(int*)a - *(int*)b); } double medianOf2(int a[], int n, int b[], int m) { // Calculate the total size of the concatenated array int len = n + m; int c[len]; // Concatenate a and b into c for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) c[i] = a[i]; for (int i = 0; i < m; ++i) c[n + i] = b[i]; // Sort the concatenated array qsort(c, len, sizeof(int), compare); // Calculate and return the median int mid = len / 2; // If length of array is even if (len % 2 == 0) return (c[mid] + c[mid - 1]) / 2.0; // If length of array is odd else return c[mid]; } int main() { int a[] = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; int b[] = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; int n = sizeof(a) / sizeof(a[0]); int m = sizeof(b) / sizeof(b[0]); printf("%f\n", medianOf2(a, n, b, m)); return 0; }
Java // Java Code to find Median of two Sorted Arrays of // Different Sizes using Sorting import java.util.*; class GfG { static double medianOf2(int[] a, int[] b) { // Merge both the arrays int[] c = new int[a.length + b.length]; System.arraycopy(a, 0, c, 0, a.length); System.arraycopy(b, 0, c, a.length, b.length); // Sort the concatenated array Arrays.sort(c); int len = c.length; // If length of array is even if (len % 2 == 0) return (c[len / 2] + c[len / 2 - 1]) / 2.0; // If length of array is odd else return c[len / 2]; } public static void main(String[] args) { int[] a = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; int[] b = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; System.out.println(medianOf2(a, b)); } }
Python # Python Code to find Median of two Sorted Arrays of # Different Sizes using Sorting def medianOf2(a, b): # Merge both the arrays c = a + b # Sort the concatenated array c.sort() len_c = len(c) # If length of array is even if len_c % 2 == 0: return (c[len_c // 2] + c[len_c // 2 - 1]) / 2.0 # If length of array is odd else: return c[len_c // 2] if __name__ == "__main__": a = [-5, 3, 6, 12, 15] b = [-12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10] print(medianOf2(a, b))
C# // C# Code to find Median of two Sorted Arrays of // Different Sizes using Sorting using System; using System.Linq; class GfG { static double MedianOf2(int[] a, int[] b) { // Merge both the arrays int[] c = a.Concat(b).ToArray(); // Sort the concatenated array Array.Sort(c); int len = c.Length; // If length of array is even if (len % 2 == 0) return (c[len / 2] + c[len / 2 - 1]) / 2.0; // If length of array is odd else return c[len / 2]; } static void Main() { int[] a = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; int[] b = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; Console.WriteLine(MedianOf2(a, b)); } }
JavaScript // JavaScript Code to find Median of two Sorted Arrays of // Different Sizes using Sorting function medianOf2(a, b) { // Merge both the arrays let c = [...a, ...b]; // Sort the concatenated array c.sort((x, y) => x - y); let len = c.length; // If length of array is even if (len % 2 === 0) return (c[len / 2] + c[len / 2 - 1]) / 2.0; // If length of array is odd else return c[Math.floor(len / 2)]; } // Driver Code let a = [-5, 3, 6, 12, 15]; let b = [-12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10]; console.log(medianOf2(a, b));
Time Complexity: O((n + m)*log (n + m)), as we are sorting the merged array of size n + m.
Auxiliary Space: O(n + m), for storing the merged array.
[Better Approach] Use Merge of Merge Sort – O(m + n) Time and O(1) Space
The given arrays are sorted, so merge the sorted arrays in an efficient way and keep the count of elements merged so far. So when we reach half of the total, print the median. There can be two cases:
- Case 1: m+n is odd, the median is the ((m+n)/2)th element while merging the arrays.
- Case 2: m+n is even, the median will be the average of ((m+n)/2 – 1)th and ((m+n)/2)th element while merging the arrays.
C++ // C++ Code to find the median of two sorted arrays // using Merge of Merge Sort #include <iostream> #include <vector> using namespace std; double medianOf2(vector<int>& a, vector<int>& b) { int n = a.size(), m = b.size(); int i = 0, j = 0; // m1 to store the middle element // m2 to store the second middle element int m1 = -1, m2 = -1; // Loop till (m+n)/2 for (int count = 0; count <= (m + n) / 2; count++) { m2 = m1; // If both the arrays have remaining elements if (i != n && j != m) m1 = (a[i] > b[j]) ? b[j++] : a[i++]; // If only a[] has remaining elements else if (i < n) m1 = a[i++]; // If only b[] has remaining elements else m1 = b[j++]; } // Return median based on odd/even size if ((m + n) % 2 == 1) return m1; else return (m1 + m2) / 2.0; } int main() { vector<int> arr1 = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15}; vector<int> arr2 = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; cout << medianOf2(arr1, arr2) << endl; return 0; }
C // C Code to find the median of two sorted arrays // using Merge of Merge Sort #include <stdio.h> double medianOf2(int a[], int n, int b[], int m) { int i = 0, j = 0; // m1 to store the middle element // m2 to store the second middle element int m1 = -1, m2 = -1; // Loop till (m+n)/2 for (int count = 0; count <= (m + n) / 2; count++) { m2 = m1; // If both the arrays have remaining elements if (i != n && j != m) m1 = (a[i] > b[j]) ? b[j++] : a[i++]; // If only a[] has remaining elements else if (i < n) m1 = a[i++]; // If only b[] has remaining elements else m1 = b[j++]; } // Return median based on odd/even size if ((m + n) % 2 == 1) return m1; else return (m1 + m2) / 2.0; } int main() { int arr1[] = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; int arr2[] = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; int n = sizeof(arr1) / sizeof(arr1[0]); int m = sizeof(arr2) / sizeof(arr2[0]); printf("%f\n", medianOf2(arr1, n, arr2, m)); return 0; }
Java // Java Code to find the median of two sorted arrays // using Merge of Merge Sort import java.util.*; class GfG { static double medianOf2(int[] a, int[] b) { int n = a.length, m = b.length; int i = 0, j = 0; // m1 to store the middle element // m2 to store the second middle element int m1 = -1, m2 = -1; // Loop till (m + n)/2 for (int count = 0; count <= (m + n) / 2; count++) { m2 = m1; // If both the arrays have remaining elements if (i != n && j != m) m1 = (a[i] > b[j]) ? b[j++] : a[i++]; // If only a[] has remaining elements else if (i < n) m1 = a[i++]; // If only b[] has remaining elements else m1 = b[j++]; } // Return median based on odd/even size if ((m + n) % 2 == 1) return m1; else return (m1 + m2) / 2.0; } public static void main(String[] args) { int[] arr1 = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; int[] arr2 = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; System.out.println(medianOf2(arr1, arr2)); } }
Python # Python Code to find the median of two sorted arrays # using Merge of Merge Sort def medianOf2(a, b): n = len(a) m = len(b) i = 0 j = 0 # m1 to store the middle element # m2 to store the second middle element m1 = -1 m2 = -1 # Loop till (m+n)/2 for count in range((m + n) // 2 + 1): m2 = m1 # If both the arrays have remaining elements if i != n and j != m: if a[i] > b[j]: m1 = b[j] j += 1 else: m1 = a[i] i += 1 # If only a[] has remaining elements elif i < n: m1 = a[i] i += 1 # If only b[] has remaining elements else: m1 = b[j] j += 1 # Return median based on odd/even size if (m + n) % 2 == 1: return m1 else: return (m1 + m2) / 2.0 if __name__ == "__main__": arr1 = [-5, 3, 6, 12, 15] arr2 = [-12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10] print(medianOf2(arr1, arr2))
C# // C# Code to find the median of two sorted arrays // using Merge of Merge Sort using System; class GfG { static double medianOf2(int[] a, int[] b) { int n = a.Length, m = b.Length; int i = 0, j = 0; // m1 to store the middle element // m2 to store the second middle element int m1 = -1, m2 = -1; // Loop till (m+n)/2 for (int count = 0; count <= (m + n) / 2; count++) { m2 = m1; // If both the arrays have remaining elements if (i != n && j != m) m1 = (a[i] > b[j]) ? b[j++] : a[i++]; // If only a[] has remaining elements else if (i < n) m1 = a[i++]; // If only b[] has remaining elements else m1 = b[j++]; } // Return median based on odd/even size if ((m + n) % 2 == 1) return m1; else return (m1 + m2) / 2.0; } static void Main() { int[] arr1 = { -5, 3, 6, 12, 15 }; int[] arr2 = { -12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10 }; Console.WriteLine(medianOf2(arr1, arr2)); } }
JavaScript // JavaScript Code to find the median of two sorted arrays // using Merge of Merge Sort function medianOf2(a, b) { let n = a.length, m = b.length; let i = 0, j = 0; // m1 to store the middle element // m2 to store the second middle element let m1 = -1, m2 = -1; // Loop till (m+n)/2 for (let count = 0; count <= (m + n) / 2; count++) { m2 = m1; // If both the arrays have remaining elements if (i != n && j != m) m1 = (a[i] > b[j]) ? b[j++] : a[i++]; // If only a[] has remaining elements else if (i < n) m1 = a[i++]; // If only b[] has remaining elements else m1 = b[j++]; } // Return median based on odd/even size if ((m + n) % 2 === 1) return m1; else return (m1 + m2) / 2.0; } // Driver Code let arr1 = [-5, 3, 6, 12, 15]; let arr2 = [-12, -10, -6, -3, 4, 10]; console.log(medianOf2(arr1, arr2));
Time Complexity: O(n + m), where n and m are lengths of a[] and b[] respectively.
Auxiliary Space: O(1), No extra space is required.
[Expected Approach] Using Binary Search – O(log(min(n, m)) Time and O(1) Space
Prerequisite: Median of two sorted arrays of same size
The approach is similar to the Binary Search approach of Median of two sorted arrays of same size with the only difference that here we apply binary search on the smaller array instead of a[].
- Consider the first array is smaller. If first array is greater, then swap the arrays to make sure that the first array is smaller.
- We mainly maintain two sets in this algorithm by doing binary search in the smaller array. Let mid1 be the partition of the smaller array. The first set contains elements from 0 to (mid1 – 1) from smaller array and mid2 = ((n + m + 1) / 2 – mid1) elements from the greater array to make sure that the first set has exactly (n+m+1)/2 elements. The second set contains remaining half elements.
- Our target is to find a point in both arrays such that all elements in the first set are smaller than all elements in the elements in the other set (set that contains elements from right side). For this we validate the partitions using the same way as we did in Median of two sorted arrays of same size.
Why do we apply Binary Search on the smaller array?
Applying Binary Search on the smaller array helps us in two ways:
- Since we are applying binary search on the smaller array, we have optimized the time complexity of the algorithm from O(logn) to O(log(min(n, m)).
- Also, if we don’t apply the binary search on the smaller array, then then we need to set low = max(0, (n + m + 1)/2 – m) and high = min(n, (n + m + 1)/2) to avoid partitioning mid1 or mid2 outside a[] or b[] respectively.
To avoid handling such cases, we can simply binary search on the smaller array.
C++ // C++ Program to find the median of two sorted arrays // of different size using Binary Search #include <iostream> #include <vector> #include <limits.h> using namespace std; double medianOf2(vector<int> &a, vector<int> &b) { int n = a.size(), m = b.size(); // If a[] has more elements, then call medianOf2 // with reversed parameters if (n > m) return medianOf2(b, a); int lo = 0, hi = n; while (lo <= hi) { int mid1 = (lo + hi) / 2; int mid2 = (n + m + 1) / 2 - mid1; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in a[] int l1 = (mid1 == 0 ? INT_MIN : a[mid1 - 1]); int r1 = (mid1 == n ? INT_MAX : a[mid1]); // Find elements to the left and right of partition in b[] int l2 = (mid2 == 0 ? INT_MIN : b[mid2 - 1]); int r2 = (mid2 == m ? INT_MAX : b[mid2]); // If it is a valid partition if (l1 <= r2 && l2 <= r1) { // If the total elements are even, then median is // the average of two middle elements if ((n + m) % 2 == 0) return (max(l1, l2) + min(r1, r2)) / 2.0; // If the total elements are odd, then median is // the middle element else return max(l1, l2); } // Check if we need to take lesser elements from a[] if (l1 > r2) hi = mid1 - 1; // Check if we need to take more elements from a[] else lo = mid1 + 1; } return 0; } int main() { vector<int> a = {1, 12, 15, 26, 38}; vector<int> b = {2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60}; cout << medianOf2(a, b); return 0; }
C // C Program to find the median of two sorted arrays // of different size using Binary Search #include <stdio.h> #include <limits.h> double medianOf2(int a[], int n, int b[], int m) { // If a[] has more elements, then call medianOf2 // with reversed parameters if (n > m) return medianOf2(b, m, a, n); int lo = 0, hi = n; while (lo <= hi) { int mid1 = (lo + hi) / 2; int mid2 = (n + m + 1) / 2 - mid1; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in a[] int l1 = (mid1 == 0) ? INT_MIN : a[mid1 - 1]; int r1 = (mid1 == n) ? INT_MAX : a[mid1]; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in b[] int l2 = (mid2 == 0) ? INT_MIN : b[mid2 - 1]; int r2 = (mid2 == m) ? INT_MAX : b[mid2]; // If it is a valid partition if (l1 <= r2 && l2 <= r1) { // If the total elements are even, then median is // the average of two middle elements if ((n + m) % 2 == 0) return (max(l1, l2) + min(r1, r2)) / 2.0; // If the total elements are odd, then median is // the middle element else return max(l1, l2); } // Check if we need to take fewer elements from a[] if (l1 > r2) hi = mid1 - 1; // Check if we need to take more elements from a[] else lo = mid1 + 1; } return 0; } // Helper functions for max and min int max(int a, int b) { return a > b ? a : b; } int min(int a, int b) { return a < b ? a : b; } int main() { int a[] = {1, 12, 15, 26, 38}; int b[] = {2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60}; int n = sizeof(a) / sizeof(a[0]); int m = sizeof(b) / sizeof(b[0]); printf("%f\n", medianOf2(a, n, b, m)); return 0; }
Java // Java Program to find the median of two sorted arrays // of different size using Binary Search import java.util.*; class GfG { static double medianOf2(int[] a, int[] b) { int n = a.length, m = b.length; // If a[] has more elements, then call medianOf2 with reversed parameters if (n > m) return medianOf2(b, a); int lo = 0, hi = n; while (lo <= hi) { int mid1 = (lo + hi) / 2; int mid2 = (n + m + 1) / 2 - mid1; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in a[] int l1 = (mid1 == 0) ? Integer.MIN_VALUE : a[mid1 - 1]; int r1 = (mid1 == n) ? Integer.MAX_VALUE : a[mid1]; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in b[] int l2 = (mid2 == 0) ? Integer.MIN_VALUE : b[mid2 - 1]; int r2 = (mid2 == m) ? Integer.MAX_VALUE : b[mid2]; // If it is a valid partition if (l1 <= r2 && l2 <= r1) { // If the total elements are even, then median is // the average of two middle elements if ((n + m) % 2 == 0) return (Math.max(l1, l2) + Math.min(r1, r2)) / 2.0; // If the total elements are odd, then median is // the middle element else return Math.max(l1, l2); } // Check if we need to take fewer elements from a[] if (l1 > r2) hi = mid1 - 1; // Check if we need to take more elements from a[] else lo = mid1 + 1; } return 0; } public static void main(String[] args) { int[] a = {1, 12, 15, 26, 38}; int[] b = {2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60}; System.out.println(medianOf2(a, b)); } }
Python # Python Program to find the median of two sorted arrays # of different size using Binary Search def medianOf2(a, b): n = len(a) m = len(b) # If a[] has more elements, then call medianOf2 # with reversed parameters if n > m: return medianOf2(b, a) lo = 0 hi = n while lo <= hi: mid1 = (lo + hi) // 2 mid2 = (n + m + 1) // 2 - mid1 # Find elements to the left and right of partition in a[] l1 = (mid1 == 0) and float('-inf') or a[mid1 - 1] r1 = (mid1 == n) and float('inf') or a[mid1] # Find elements to the left and right of partition in b[] l2 = (mid2 == 0) and float('-inf') or b[mid2 - 1] r2 = (mid2 == m) and float('inf') or b[mid2] # If it is a valid partition if l1 <= r2 and l2 <= r1: # If the total elements are even, then median is # the average of two middle elements if (n + m) % 2 == 0: return (max(l1, l2) + min(r1, r2)) / 2.0 # If the total elements are odd, then median is # the middle element else: return max(l1, l2) # Check if we need to take lesser elements from a[] if l1 > r2: hi = mid1 - 1 # Check if we need to take more elements from a[] else: lo = mid1 + 1 return 0 if __name__ == "__main__": a = [1, 12, 15, 26, 38] b = [2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60] print(medianOf2(a, b))
C# // C# Program to find the median of two sorted arrays // of different size using Binary Search using System; class GfG { static double medianOf2(int[] a, int[] b) { int n = a.Length, m = b.Length; // If a[] has more elements, then call medianOf2 // with reversed parameters if (n > m) return medianOf2(b, a); int lo = 0, hi = n; while (lo <= hi) { int mid1 = (lo + hi) / 2; int mid2 = (n + m + 1) / 2 - mid1; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in a[] int l1 = (mid1 == 0 ? int.MinValue : a[mid1 - 1]); int r1 = (mid1 == n ? int.MaxValue : a[mid1]); // Find elements to the left and right of partition in b[] int l2 = (mid2 == 0 ? int.MinValue : b[mid2 - 1]); int r2 = (mid2 == m ? int.MaxValue : b[mid2]); // If it is a valid partition if (l1 <= r2 && l2 <= r1) { // If the total elements are even, then median is // the average of two middle elements if ((n + m) % 2 == 0) return (Math.Max(l1, l2) + Math.Min(r1, r2)) / 2.0; // If the total elements are odd, then median is // the middle element else return Math.Max(l1, l2); } // Check if we need to take lesser elements from arr1 if (l1 > r2) hi = mid1 - 1; // Check if we need to take more elements from arr1 else lo = mid1 + 1; } return 0; } static void Main() { int[] a = { 1, 12, 15, 26, 38 }; int[] b = { 2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60 }; Console.WriteLine(medianOf2(a, b)); } }
JavaScript // JavaScript Program to find the median of two sorted arrays // of different size using Binary Search function medianOf2(a, b) { let n = a.length, m = b.length; // If a[] has more elements, then call medianOf2 // with reversed parameters if (n > m) return medianOf2(b, a); let lo = 0, hi = n; while (lo <= hi) { let mid1 = Math.floor((lo + hi) / 2); let mid2 = Math.floor((n + m + 1) / 2) - mid1; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in a[] let l1 = (mid1 === 0) ? -Infinity : a[mid1 - 1]; let r1 = (mid1 === n) ? Infinity : a[mid1]; // Find elements to the left and right of partition in b[] let l2 = (mid2 === 0) ? -Infinity : b[mid2 - 1]; let r2 = (mid2 === m) ? Infinity : b[mid2]; // If it is a valid partition if (l1 <= r2 && l2 <= r1) { // If the total elements are even, then median is // the average of two middle elements if ((n + m) % 2 === 0) return (Math.max(l1, l2) + Math.min(r1, r2)) / 2.0; // If the total elements are odd, then median is // the middle element else return Math.max(l1, l2); } // Check if we need to take lesser elements from a[] if (l1 > r2) hi = mid1 - 1; // Check if we need to take more elements from a[] else lo = mid1 + 1; } return 0; } // Driver Code let a = [1, 12, 15, 26, 38]; let b = [2, 13, 17, 30, 45, 60]; console.log(medianOf2(a, b));
Time Complexity: O(log(min(m, n))), since binary search is applied on the smaller array.
Auxiliary Space: O(1)
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N-Base modified Binary Search is an algorithm based on number bases that can be used to find an element in a sorted array arr[]. This algorithm is an extension of Bitwise binary search and has a similar running time. Examples: Input: arr[] = {1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 15, 21, 45, 70, 100}, target = 45Output:
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Implementation of Binary Search in different languages
C Program for Binary Search
In this article, we will understand the binary search algorithm and how to implement binary search programs in C. We will see both iterative and recursive approaches and how binary search can reduce the time complexity of the search operation as compared to linear search. Table of Content What is Bi
7 min read
C++ Program For Binary Search
Binary Search is a popular searching algorithm which is used for finding the position of any given element in a sorted array. It is a type of interval searching algorithm that keep dividing the number of elements to be search into half by considering only the part of the array where there is the pro
5 min read
C Program for Binary Search
In this article, we will understand the binary search algorithm and how to implement binary search programs in C. We will see both iterative and recursive approaches and how binary search can reduce the time complexity of the search operation as compared to linear search. Table of Content What is Bi
7 min read
Binary Search functions in C++ STL (binary_search, lower_bound and upper_bound)
In C++, STL provide various functions like std::binary_search(), std::lower_bound(), and std::upper_bound() which uses the the binary search algorithm for different purposes. These function will only work on the sorted data. There are the 3 binary search function in C++ STL: Table of Content binary_
3 min read
Binary Search in Java
Binary search is a highly efficient searching algorithm used when the input is sorted. It works by repeatedly dividing the search range in half, reducing the number of comparisons needed compared to a linear search. Here, we are focusing on finding the middle element that acts as a reference frame t
7 min read
Binary Search (Recursive and Iterative) - Python
Binary Search Algorithm is a searching algorithm used in a sorted array by repeatedly dividing the search interval in half. The idea of binary search is to use the information that the array is sorted and reduce the time complexity to O(log N). Below is the step-by-step algorithm for Binary Search:
6 min read
Binary Search In JavaScript
Binary Search is a searching technique that works on the Divide and Conquer approach. It is used to search for any element in a sorted array. Compared with linear, binary search is much faster with a Time Complexity of O(logN), whereas linear search works in O(N) time complexity Examples: Input : ar
3 min read
Binary Search using pthread
Binary search is a popular method of searching in a sorted array or list. It simply divides the list into two halves and discards the half which has zero probability of having the key. On dividing, we check the midpoint for the key and use the lower half if the key is less than the midpoint and the
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Comparison with other Searching
Binary Search Intuition and Predicate Functions
The binary search algorithm is used in many coding problems, and it is usually not very obvious at first sight. However, there is certainly an intuition and specific conditions that may hint at using binary search. In this article, we try to develop an intuition for binary search. Introduction to Bi
12 min read
Can Binary Search be applied in an Unsorted Array?
Binary Search is a search algorithm that is specifically designed for searching in sorted data structures. This searching algorithm is much more efficient than Linear Search as they repeatedly target the center of the search structure and divide the search space in half. It has logarithmic time comp
9 min read
Find a String in given Array of Strings using Binary Search
Given a sorted array of Strings arr and a string x, The task is to find the index of x in the array using the Binary Search algorithm. If x is not present, return -1. Examples: Input: arr[] = {"contribute", "geeks", "ide", "practice"}, x = "ide"Output: 2Explanation: The String x is present at index
6 min read