On the complexity of search algorithms

The average complexity for searching a record in a sorted file of records that are stored on a tape is analyzed for four search algorithms, namely, sequential search, binary search, Fibonacci search, and a modified version of Fibonacci search. The theoretical results are consistent with the recent simulation results by S. Nishihara and N. Nishino (1987). The results show that sequential search, Fibonacci search, and modified Fibonacci search are all better than binary search on a tape.<
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