Re: A question: Is 200,000 element array worth sorting and search?

mike-yue said:

> All very good answers. many thanks for you guys,
> In a word, the Liner Search is the cheapest method to search. the
> other two are complicated and expensive.

Whilst your claim is true, it is meaningless. Linear search is a search 
technique. The other two are sorting techniques. It's tempting to say that

you're comparing apples with oranges, but it's more like comparing apples 
with October.

> I know it is about algorithmic complexity, but I totally forget the
> defination of the O, even the Log. University time seems a century ago
> I almost forget everything.
> 
> I think it is useless for 99% programmer jobs,

That's only true because 99% of programming jobs don't actually require 
very much programming skill.

> unfortunately it's
> always been asked. Once a interviewer asked me to explain the
> algorithmic complexity of quick sort!
 
Well, that's a reasonable question, isn't it? And hardly difficult.

-- 
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk>
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