Lineaarihaku

Lineaarihaku, also known as sequential search or linear search, is a simple algorithm for finding a target value within a list. It sequentially checks each element of the list until a match is found or the entire list has been traversed.

The algorithm works by starting at the first element of the list and comparing it to the target value. If the element matches the target, the search is successful, and the position of the element is returned. If it does not match, the algorithm proceeds to the next element and repeats the comparison. This process continues until either the target value is found or all elements in the list have been examined. If the target value is not found after checking every element, the search is considered unsuccessful.

Lineaarihaku is straightforward to implement and can be used on any type of list, regardless of whether it is sorted or not. However, its efficiency is limited. In the worst-case scenario, where the target value is the last element or not present in the list, the algorithm must examine every single element. This makes its time complexity O(n), where n is the number of elements in the list. For large datasets, more efficient search algorithms like binary search (which requires a sorted list) are generally preferred. Despite its limitations, lineaarihaku is useful for small lists or when the order of elements is unknown and sorting is not feasible.