The ability to efficiently and accurately search data in a given data repository is critical to many real-life applications. Depending on your choice of searching algorithm, you may need to sort the data first as well. The choice of the right sorting and searching algorithms will depend on the type and the size of the data, as well as the nature of the problem you are trying to solve.
Let's try to use the algorithms presented in this chapter to solve the problem of matching a new applicant at the immigration department of a certain country with historical records. When someone applies for a visa to enter the country, the system tries to match the applicant with the existing historical records. If at least one match is found, then the system further calculates the number of times that the individual has been approved or refused in the...
