Linear Search (sequential search)

• simplest search algorithm for finding particular element in a list
• efficient for small lists
• belongs to the “Brute force” strategy

How it works:

each element in list is checked one by one based on a condition until desired element is found

element found => location returned, algorithm stops

Performance:

• Best case: 1 comparison
• Worst case: n comparisons
• Average: (n+1)/2 comparisons

Time complexity:

• Worst case n comparisons: O(n)