Applications of Binary Search

Applications of Binary Search

Binary search is not just a technique for locating one value in a list — the same idea shows up, in one form or another, wherever fast lookup matters:

• Everyday lookups. Searching a dictionary or a telephone directory, or finding the element with the minimum or maximum value in a sorted list, are classic examples of binary search in action.
• Real-world systems. Modified (adapted) forms of binary search have far-reaching applications too — indexing in databases, implementing routing tables in routers, and data-compression code all build on the same halving idea. …