Java 6 Illuminated: An Active Learning Approach, 2nd Edition

8.6 Searching and Sorting Arrays 527

return i;

}

return -1; // end of array reached without finding key

// or an element larger than the key was found

}

In fact, if the array is sorted, it can be searched even more efficiently using

an algorithm called Binary Search, which we explain in the next section.

8.6.6 Binary Search of a Sorted Array

If you’ve played the “Guess a Number” game, you probably have used the

concept of a Binary Search. In this game, someone asks you to guess a

secret number between 1 and 100. For each number you guess, they tell

you whether the secret number is larger or smaller than your guess. A

good strategy is to guess the number ...