C Exercises: Search an element in a row wise and column wise sorted matrix

Last update on March 18 2025 13:21:10 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

67. Search in Row & Column Sorted Matrix

Write a program in C to search for an element in a row wise and column wise sorted matrix.

Expected Output :
The given array in matrix form is :
15 23 31 39
18 26 36 43
25 28 37 48
30 34 39 50
The given value for searching is: 37
The element Found at the position in the matrix is: 2, 2

The task is to write a C program that searches for a specific element in a matrix that is sorted both row-wise and column-wise. The program should efficiently locate the element, if it exists, and return its position within the matrix. The position should be given in terms of row and column indices.

Visual Presentation:

C Exercises: Search an element in a row wise and column wise sorted matrix.

Sample Solution:

C Code:

#include <stdio.h>

// Function to search for an element in a sorted 2D matrix
int searchElement(int arr2D[4][4], int n, int x) {
    int i = 0, j = n - 1;

    // Loop to traverse the matrix diagonally
    while (i < n && j >= 0) {
        // If the element is found in the matrix
        if (arr2D[i][j] == x) {
            printf("\nThe element found at the position in the matrix is: %d, %d\n", i, j);
            return 1;
        }
        // If the element is smaller, move down in the column
        if (arr2D[i][j] < x)
            i++;
        // If the element is larger, move left in the row
        else
            j--;
    }

    printf("\nThe given element was not found in the 2D array.\n");
    return 0;
}

int main() {
    // Initializing a 4x4 2D array
    int arr2D[4][4] = {
        {15, 23, 31, 39},
        {18, 26, 36, 43},
        {25, 28, 37, 48},
        {30, 34, 39, 50}
    };
    int v = 37;

    // Printing the original 2D array in matrix form
    printf("The given array in matrix form is:\n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
            printf("%d  ", arr2D[i][j]); // Print each element of the matrix
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    // Printing the value for searching
    printf("The given value for searching is: %d\n", v);

    // Searching for the element in the 2D matrix
    searchElement(arr2D, 4, v);

    return 0;
}

Output:

The given array in matrix form is :  
15  23  31  39  
18  26  36  43  
25  28  37  48  
30  34  39  50  
The given value for searching is: 37
The element Found at the position in the matrix is:  2, 2

Flowchart:/p>

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a C program to search for an element in a matrix sorted row-wise and column-wise using a staircase search.
Write a C program to find an element in a row and column sorted matrix and return its coordinates using recursion.
Write a C program to implement a binary search on each row of a sorted matrix to locate an element.
Write a C program to search for an element in a matrix and display a custom message if not found.

C Programming Code Editor:

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