Java™ How To Program (Early Objects), Tenth Edition

Linear Search Algorithm

The linear search algorithm searches each element in an array sequentially. If the search key does not match an element in the array, the algorithm tests each element, and when the end of the array is reached, informs the user that the search key is not present. If the search key is in the array, the algorithm tests each element until it finds one that matches the search key and returns the index of that element.

As an example, consider an array containing the following values

Click here to view code image

34  56  2  10  77  51  93  30  5  52

and a program that’s searching for 51. Using the linear search algorithm, the program first checks whether 34 matches the search key. It does not, so the algorithm checks whether ...