Download:
Linear Search (Code Needs To Be Copied Into Python)
Townlist (Text Document Needed For Python File to Work)
Note: Make sure that townlist and the python file is in the same folder for the program to work. Remove/add comments where needed in order test out variants
Linear Search: (GCSE & A-Level)
The Linear Search starts at the beginning item in the list and checks each item one by one until it finds the intended search term.
Simplified Explanation:
- Start at the first item in the list.
- If this item is the search term, then the search is complete.
- If the item is not the search term, then move to the next item in the list.
- Repeat Step 2 until the search term is found or when there are no more items in the list.
Linear Search in Python:
| Advantages: | Disadvantages: |
| · Effective finding item in small data sets (Lists) | · Slowest type of search. Inefficient. |
| · Can be used on any list (sorted or unsorted) | · Number of operations/loops can vary depending on the size of the data set (list) |
| · Easy to program and easy to implement |
Big O Notation of Linear Search (A-Level):
| Best Case | Average Case: | Worst Case |
| · Constant | · Linear | · Linear |
| · O(1) | · O(n) | · O(n) |
Recursive Linear Search: (A-Level)
