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Last modified on May 20, 2026
intermediate
Binary search is an efficient algorithm for finding a target value within a sorted array or list. It works by repeatedly dividing the search interval in half. If the target value is less than the value in the middle of the interval, the search continues in the lower half, otherwise, it continues in the upper half. This process is repeated until the target value is found or the interval is empty. The time complexity of binary search is O(log n), making it significantly faster than linear search for large datasets.
Binary search solves the problem of efficiently locating an element in a sorted collection. For example, given a sorted array of integers [1, 3, 5, 7, 9], if we want to find the index of the number 5, binary search will quickly narrow down the search space and determine that 5 is located at index 2.
Binary search is used in algorithms and data structures to optimize search operations on sorted data. It is commonly implemented in various applications such as searching in databases, finding elements in sorted arrays, and in algorithms that require efficient searching capabilities.
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