Name: Vivek Gajanan Sarode
Roll No.:SE-2=28
Batch: S6
Subject: Data Structures and Algorithms Lab
Title: Practical No.7
(Searching Techniques)
Problem Statement:
You are building a contact manager app. A user wants to search for a contact either by scanning
one by one or by using a fast lookup if the list is sorted. Write a program that locates a specific
name using both sequential and binary search
techniques.
Date of Performance:14/7/2025
Date of Submission:
1)Binary Search:
Algorithm:
Step 1: Start
Step 2: Define Constants and Structure
Define a constant SIZE for array size.
Define a structure Contact_Manage with fields:
name (character array)
mobile_no (integer)
email_id (character array)
Step 3: Declare Global Contact Array
Declare an array contact[SIZE] of structure type.
Step 4: Read Number of Contacts
Prompt the user to enter the number of contacts (n).
Show a message: “Please enter contact names in sorted (A-Z) order”.
Step 5: Input Contact Details
Repeat for i = 0 to n-1:
Input contact[i].name
Input contact[i].mobile_no
Input contact[i].email_id
Step 6: Search a Contact by Name Using Binary Search
Step 6.1: Input the Search Name
Ask the user to enter a search_name
Step 6.2: Call binarySearch() Function
Pass search_name and n to binarySearch()
Store the result in variable result
Step 7: Binary Search Logic (inside binarySearch() function)Step 8: Display the
Result
If result != -1:
Print contact details at contact[result]
Else:
Print “Contact not found”
Step 8: Display the Result
If result != -1:
Print contact details at contact[result]
Else:
Print “Contact not found”
Step 9: End
C Program:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#define SIZE 100
struct Contact_Manage {
char name[SIZE];
int mobile_no;
char email_id[SIZE];
}contact[SIZE]; /* Declare global array*/
/* Binary search function (requires sorted data)*/
int binarySearch(char target[], int n) {
int beg = 0, end = n - 1;
while (beg <= end) {
int mid = beg + (end - beg) / 2;
int cmp = strcmp(contact[mid].name, target);
if (cmp == 0) {
return mid; /* Found*/
} else if (cmp < 0) {
beg = mid + 1;
} else {
end = mid - 1;
}
}
return -1; /* Not found*/
}
int main() {
int n, i, result;
char search_name[SIZE];
printf("Enter the number of contacts: ");
scanf("%d", &n);
printf("\nNote: Please enter contact names in sorted (A-Z) order!\n");
for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
{ printf("\nEnter details for contact %d:\n", i + 1);
printf("Enter the name: ");
scanf("%s", contact[i].name);
printf("Enter the mobile number: ");
scanf("%d", &contact[i].mobile_no);
printf("Enter the email id: ");
scanf("%s", contact[i].email_id);
}
printf("\nEnter the name to search: ");
scanf("%s", search_name);
result = binarySearch(search_name, n);
if (result != -1) {
printf("\nContact Found at index %d\n", result);
printf("Name : %s\n", contact[result].name);
printf("Mobile No : %d\n", contact[result].mobile_no);
printf("Email ID : %s\n", contact[result].email_id);
} else {
printf("\nContact not found.\n");
}
return 0;
}
/*Output
Enter the number of contacts: 3
Note: Please enter contact names in sorted (A-Z) order!
Enter details for contact 1:
Enter the name: Anjali
Enter the mobile number: 9876543210
Enter the email id: anjali@[Link]
Enter details for contact 2:
Enter the name: Deepak
Enter the mobile number: 9123456789
Enter the email id: deepak@[Link]
Enter details for contact 3:
Enter the name: Kavita
Enter the mobile number: 9988776655
Enter the email id: kavita@[Link]
Enter the name to search: Anjali
Contact Found at index 0
Name : Anjali
Mobile No : 1286608618
Email ID : anjali@[Link]
Press Enter to return to Quincy...*/
2)Linear Search:
Algorithm:
Step 1: Start
Step 2: Define Constants and Structure
Define a constant SIZE to specify the maximum size of arrays.
Define a structure Contact_Manage with the following fields:
name (character array)
mobile_no (integer)
email_id (character array)
Step 3: Declare a Global Array
Declare an array contact[SIZE] of type struct Contact_Manage.
Step 4: Input Contact Details
Step 4.1: Ask user to enter number of contacts (n).
Step 4.2: Repeat the following for i = 0 to n - 1:
Ask user to enter:
contact[i].name
contact[i].mobile_no
contact[i].email_id
Step 5: Search for a Contact using Linear Search
Step 5.1: Ask user to enter the name to be searched (search_name).
Step 5.2: Call linearSearch(search_name, n)
Step 6: Linear Search Logic
In linearSearch() function:
Loop i = 0 to n - 1
Compare contact[i].name with target using strcmp()
If match found: return index i
If loop ends without finding match: return -1
Step 7: Display the Result
If returned index ≠ -1:
Display:
Name
Mobile Number
Email ID
Else:
Print "Contact not found"
Step 8: End
C Program:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#define SIZE 100
struct Contact_Manage {
char name[SIZE];
int mobile_no;
char email_id[SIZE];
}contact[SIZE]; /* Global array*/
/* Linear search function*/
int linearSearch(char target[], int n)
{ int i;
for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
{if (strcmp(contact[i].name, target) == 0)
{return i; /*Contact found*/
}
}
return -1; /* Not found*/
}
int main() {
int n, i, result;
char search_name[SIZE];
printf("Enter the number of contacts: ");
scanf("%d", &n);
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
printf("\nEnter details for contact %d:\n", i + 1);
printf("Enter the name: ");
scanf("%s", contact[i].name);
printf("Enter the mobile number: ");
scanf("%d", &contact[i].mobile_no);
printf("Enter the email id: ");
scanf("%s", contact[i].email_id);
}
printf("\nEnter the name to search: ");
scanf("%s", search_name);
result = linearSearch(search_name, n);
if (result != -1)
{printf("\nContact Found at index %d\n", result);
printf("Name : %s\n", contact[result].name);
printf("Mobile No : %d\n", contact[result].mobile_no);
printf("Email ID : %s\n", contact[result].email_id);
} else
{ printf("\nContact not found.\n");
}
return 0;
}
/*Output :
Enter the number of contacts: 3
Enter details for contact 1:
Enter the name: Anjali
Enter the mobile number: 9876543210
Enter the email id: anjali@[Link]
Enter details for contact 2:
Enter the name: Deepak
Enter the mobile number: 9123456789
Enter the email id: deepak@[Link]
Enter details for contact 3:
Enter the name: Kavita
Enter the mobile number: 9988776655
Enter the email id: kavita@[Link]
Enter the name to search: Deepak
Contact Found at index 1
Name : Deepak
Mobile No : 533522197
Email ID : deepak@[Link]
[Process completed - press Enter]*/
Errors and how to fix them :
[Link] variable i
error: 'i' undeclared (first use in this function)
Cause: Using variable i in a loop without declaring it.
Fix:
Declare int i; before using the loop:
int i;
for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
{ // your code
}
[Link] == to compare strings
Error: Binary search/linear search condition like:
if (contact[mid].name == target) // WRONG!
Cause:
You can't compare strings using == in C. It compares addresses, not actual
string content.
Fix:
Use strcmp() from <string.h>:
if (strcmp(contact[mid].name, target) == 0)
[Link] correct array indexing or exceeding limits
Error: Using an index out of bounds like contact[n] or using uninitialized
variables.
Fix:
Ensure your loops run from i = 0 to i < n.
Do not use contact[n] if n is the number of contacts — valid indices are 0 to n-
1.
[Link] scanf() usage
Error: scanf("%s", &contact[i].name); // WRONG
Cause:
contact[i].name is already a pointer to the first element (a char array), so &
is not needed.
Fix:
scanf("%s", contact[i].name); // Correct
[Link] input is sorted when using binary search
Logical Error (not compile-time):The binary search will fail or return wrong
result if the input names are not in alphabetical order.
Fix:
Make sure the user enters contacts in sorted order, or add a sorting function
before calling binary search.
Compering Binary Search and Linear search:
Feature Binary Search Linear Search
Requires sorted list: Yes No
Code complexity: Medium Simple
Time complexity: O(log n) O(n)
Suitable for: Large sorted lists Small or unsorted lists
