Textbook errors in binary searching

Authors:
Richard E. Pattis
Affiliations:
Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Venue:
SIGCSE '88 Proceedings of the nineteenth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Year:
1988

Citing 0
Cited 3

On finding a stable roommate, job, or spouse: a case study crossing the boundaries of computer science courses

SIGCSE '92 Proceedings of the twenty-third SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Teaching writing and research skills in the computer science curriculum

SIGCSE '90 Proceedings of the twenty-first SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
The introduction of computer science to NZ high schools: an analysis of student work

Proceedings of the 7th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This paper discusses the specification and implementation of binary searching. It begins by presenting a “standard” set of declarations, a specification, and a binary searching procedure written in Pascal. This procedure does not meet the specification: it contains five errors that also occur in many CS-1 and CS-2 textbooks. We will locate and study these errors, and show alternative procedures that correct them in a simple and understandable way.