In a binary search implementation, what is the purpose of the 'mid' variable?
Practice Questions
Q1
In a binary search implementation, what is the purpose of the 'mid' variable?
To store the maximum value
To find the middle index
To count iterations
To store the minimum value
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In a binary search implementation, what is the purpose of the 'mid' variable?
Step 1: Understand that binary search is a method to find a target value in a sorted list.
Step 2: The search starts with a range defined by two indices: the start and the end of the list.
Step 3: The 'mid' variable is calculated as the average of the start and end indices. This gives the index of the middle element in the current search range.
Step 4: The value at the 'mid' index is compared to the target value we are looking for.
Step 5: If the value at 'mid' is equal to the target, we have found our value.
Step 6: If the value at 'mid' is less than the target, we adjust the start index to 'mid + 1' to search the right half of the list.
Step 7: If the value at 'mid' is greater than the target, we adjust the end index to 'mid - 1' to search the left half of the list.
Step 8: We repeat the process until we find the target or the search range is empty.
