Binary Search vs Linear Search Real Cost Difference in DSA Typescript - Build Both Approaches

Binary Search vs Linear Search Real Cost Difference

📖 Scenario: Imagine you have a list of product prices in a store. You want to find if a certain price exists in the list. There are two ways to search: checking each price one by one (linear search) or using a faster method if the list is sorted (binary search).

🎯 Goal: You will create a list of prices, set a target price to find, write both linear and binary search functions, and then print the results showing which method found the price and how many steps each took.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create an array called prices with these exact numbers: [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100]

Create a variable called targetPrice and set it to 70

Write a function called linearSearch that takes prices and targetPrice and returns an object with found (boolean) and steps (number of checks)

Write a function called binarySearch that takes prices and targetPrice and returns an object with found (boolean) and steps (number of checks)

Print the results of both searches showing if the price was found and how many steps each took

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Searching for items quickly in sorted lists like product prices, names, or IDs is common in apps and websites.

💼 Career

Understanding search algorithms helps in optimizing software performance and making user experiences faster.

1

Create the price list

Create an array called prices with these exact numbers: [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100]

DSA Typescript

// Create the array prices with the given numbers
// Your code here

Hint

Use const prices = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100];

2

Set the target price

Create a variable called targetPrice and set it to 70

DSA Typescript

const prices = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100];
// Create targetPrice and set it to 70
// Your code here

Hint

Use const targetPrice = 70;

3

Write linear search function

Write a function called linearSearch that takes prices and targetPrice and returns an object with found (boolean) and steps (number of checks). Use a for loop with variable i to check each price.

DSA Typescript

const prices = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100];
const targetPrice = 70;
// Write linearSearch function below
// Your code here

Hint

Use a for loop to check each price. Increase steps each time you check.

4

Write binary search function and print results

Write a function called binarySearch that takes prices and targetPrice and returns an object with found (boolean) and steps (number of checks). Use variables left, right, and mid to search. Then print the results of both linearSearch and binarySearch showing if the price was found and how many steps each took.

DSA Typescript

const prices = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100];
const targetPrice = 70;

function linearSearch(prices: number[], targetPrice: number): { found: boolean; steps: number } {
    let steps = 0;
    for (let i = 0; i < prices.length; i++) {
        steps++;
        if (prices[i] === targetPrice) {
            return { found: true, steps };
        }
    }
    return { found: false, steps };
}

// Write binarySearch function and print results below
// Your code here

Hint

Use a while loop with left, right, and mid to find the target. Count steps each check. Then print results using console.log.