Bifalgorithm post · Computer science one · Searching

How does bsearch() efficiently search a sorted array?

How does bsearch() efficiently search a sorted array? (Computer science one · Searching) — "In the standard library (stdlib.h) there is an additional binary se…

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  • The standard library provides bsearch() for searching sorted arrays.
  • bsearch() is an additional binary search function in stdlib.h.
  • It searches a sorted array more efficiently.
  • Prototype: void *bsearch(const void *key, const void *base, size_t nmemb, size_t size, int (*compar)(const void *, const void *));
  • Its parameters are the same as those of lfind().
  • Search result behavior
  • It returns a pointer to the first element it finds, which is not necessarily the first element in array order.
  • It returns NULL when no matching element is found.
  • The array must be sorted with the same comparator used for sorting; otherwise, NULL may be returned erroneously.
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How does bsearch() efficiently search a sorted array?

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Computer science one

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"In the standard library (stdlib.h) there is an additional binary search function that can be used to more efficiently search a sorted array. The prototype:\n\nvoid *bsearch(const void *key, const void *base, size_t nmemb, size_t size, int (*compar)(const void *, const void *));\n\nAll parameters are exactly as with lfind() as is the behavior: it returns a pointer to the first element that it finds (though first does not necessarily mean the first in the order of the array) and NULL if no matching element is found. It is an essential requirement that the array be sorted with the same comparator as was used to sort the array or NULL may be returned erroneously."

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