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Python: Binary search

Python Search and Sorting : Exercise-1 with Solution

Write a Python program for binary search.
Binary Search : In computer science, a binary search or half-interval search algorithm finds the position of a target value within a sorted array. The binary search algorithm can be classified as a dichotomies divide-and-conquer search algorithm and executes in logarithmic time.

Step by step example :

Binary search Part - 1


Binary search Part - 2

Binary search Part - 3
Binary search Part - 4

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

def binary_search(item_list,item):
	first = 0
	last = len(item_list)-1
	found = False
	while( first<=last and not found):
		mid = (first + last)//2
		if item_list[mid] == item :
			found = True
		else:
			if item < item_list[mid]:
				last = mid - 1
			else:
				first = mid + 1	
	return found
	
print(binary_search([1,2,3,5,8], 6))
print(binary_search([1,2,3,5,8], 5))

Sample Output: 

False                                                                                                         
True

Flowchart:

Flowchart: Python Data Structures and Algorithms: Binary search

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Python: Tips of the Day

How do I sort a dictionary by value?

Python 3.6+

x = {1: 2, 3: 4, 4: 3, 2: 1, 0: 0}
{k: v for k, v in sorted(x.items(), key=lambda item: item[1])}
{0: 0, 2: 1, 1: 2, 4: 3, 3: 4}

Older Python

It is not possible to sort a dictionary, only to get a representation of a dictionary that is sorted. Dictionaries are inherently orderless, but other types, such as lists and tuples, are not. So you need an ordered data type to represent sorted values, which will be a list-probably a list of tuples.

import operator
x = {1: 2, 3: 4, 4: 3, 2: 1, 0: 0}
sorted_x = sorted(x.items(), key=operator.itemgetter(1))

sorted_x will be a list of tuples sorted by the second element in each tuple. dict(sorted_x) == x.

And for those wishing to sort on keys instead of values:

import operator
x = {1: 2, 3: 4, 4: 3, 2: 1, 0: 0}
sorted_x = sorted(x.items(), key=operator.itemgetter(0))

In Python3 since unpacking is not allowed [1] we can use

x = {1: 2, 3: 4, 4: 3, 2: 1, 0: 0}
sorted_x = sorted(x.items(), key=lambda kv: kv[1])

If you want the output as a dict, you can use collections.OrderedDict: 

import collections

sorted_dict = collections.OrderedDict(sorted_x)

Ref: https://bit.ly/3dJyjpV