Linear Search Agorithm

Linear Search (also called sequential search) is a simple searching algorithm that checks each element in a list one by one until it finds the target element or reaches the end of the list.

It works on both sorted and unsorted arrays.

 How Linear Search Works (Step-by-Step)

1. Start from the first element of the array.
2. Compare each element with the target/key you are looking for.
3. If a match is found, return the index.
4. If no match is found by the end, return -1 (or say “not found”).

Example

Array: [12, 45, 67, 23, 89]
Target: 23

Step-by-Step Execution:

Linear Search python code: 

function linearSearch (arr, target):

    for i = 0 to len(arr) - 1:

        if arr[i] == target:

            return i

    return -1

Time Complexity

• n = number of elements

 Space Complexity

• O (1) — no extra space used

 Key Features:

• Simple and easy
• Works for unsorted arrays
• Not efficient for large data sets