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Getting Started with Python

You're reading from   Getting Started with Python Understand key data structures and use Python in object-oriented programming

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Product type Course
Published in Feb 2019
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781838551919
Length 722 pages
Edition 1st Edition
Languages
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Authors (3):
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Benjamin Baka Benjamin Baka
Author Profile Icon Benjamin Baka
Benjamin Baka
Fabrizio Romano Fabrizio Romano
Author Profile Icon Fabrizio Romano
Fabrizio Romano
Dusty Phillips Dusty Phillips
Author Profile Icon Dusty Phillips
Dusty Phillips
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Toc

Table of Contents (31) Chapters Close

Title Page
Copyright and Credits
About Packt
Contributors
Preface
1. A Gentle Introduction to Python FREE CHAPTER 2. Built-in Data Types 3. Iterating and Making Decisions 4. Functions, the Building Blocks of Code 5. Files and Data Persistence 6. Principles of Algorithm Design 7. Lists and Pointer Structures 8. Stacks and Queues 9. Trees 10. Hashing and Symbol Tables 11. Graphs and Other Algorithms 12. Searching 13. Sorting 14. Selection Algorithms 15. Object-Oriented Design 16. Objects in Python 17. When Objects Are Alike 18. Expecting the Unexpected 19. When to Use Object-Oriented Programming 20. Python Object-Oriented Shortcuts 21. The Iterator Pattern 22. Python Design Patterns I 23. Python Design Patterns II 24. Testing Object-Oriented Programs 1. Other Books You May Enjoy Index

Interpolation search


There is another variant of the binary search algorithm that may closely be said to mimic more, how humans perform search on any list of items. It is still based off trying to make a good guess of where in a sorted list of items, a search item is likely to be found.

Examine the following list of items for example:

To find 120, we know to look at the right hand portion of the list. Our initial treatment of binary search would typically examine the middle element first in order to determine if it matches the search term.

A more human thing would be to pick a middle element in a such a way as to not only split the array in half but to get as close as possible to the search term. The middle position was calculated for using the following rule:

mid_point = (index_of_first_element + index_of_last_element)/2 

We shall replace this formula with a better one that brings us close to the search term. mid_point will receive the return value of the nearest_mid function.

def nearest_mid...
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