Advanced topics
Now that we have seen how arrays are used in common practice, let's examine a few advanced topics relating to arrays: search patterns and variations on the basic types of objects that can be stored in an array.
Linear search
When learning about data structures, it is impossible to avoid discussing the subjects of searching and sorting. Without the ability to search a data structure, the data would be fairly useless to us. Without the ability to sort the data set for use in a particular application, the data would be extremely tedious to manage.
The steps or process we follow to perform a search or a sort of a particular data structure are called an algorithm. The performance or the complexity of an algorithm in computer science is measured using the big O notation, which is derived from the function f(n) = O (g(n)), read as f of n equals big oh of g of n. In the simplest terms, big O is the terminology we use to describe the worst case for how long an algorithm takes...
