Array.BinarySearch Method (Array, Object) (System)

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.NET Framework Class Library

Array.BinarySearch Method (Array, Object)

Searches an entire one-dimensional sorted Array for a specific element, using the IComparable interface implemented by each element of the Array and by the specified object.

Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic

Public Shared Function BinarySearch ( _
	array As Array, _
	value As Object _
) As Integer

public static int BinarySearch(
	Array array,
	Object value
)

Visual C++

public:
static int BinarySearch(
	Array^ array, 
	Object^ value
)

static member BinarySearch : 
        array:Array * 
        value:Object -> int

Parameters

array: Type: System.Array
The sorted one-dimensional Array to search.

value: Type: System.Object
The object to search for.

Return Value

Type: System.Int32
The index of the specified value in the specified array, if value is found. If value is not found and value is less than one or more elements in array, a negative number which is the bitwise complement of the index of the first element that is larger than value. If value is not found and value is greater than any of the elements in array, a negative number which is the bitwise complement of (the index of the last element plus 1).

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
ArgumentNullException	array is null.
RankException	array is multidimensional.
ArgumentException	value is of a type that is not compatible with the elements of array.
InvalidOperationException	value does not implement the IComparable interface, and the search encounters an element that does not implement the IComparable interface.

Remarks

This method does not support searching arrays that contain negative indexes. array must be sorted before calling this method.

If the Array does not contain the specified value, the method returns a negative integer. You can apply the bitwise complement operator (~) to the negative result (in Visual Basic, Xor the negative result with -1) to produce an index. If this index is greater than or equal to the size of the array, there are no elements larger than value in the array. Otherwise, it is the index of the first element that is larger than value.

Either value or every element of array must implement the IComparable interface, which is used for comparisons. The elements of array must already be sorted in increasing value according to the sort order defined by the IComparable implementation; otherwise, the result might be incorrect.

Note
If value does not implement the IComparable interface, the elements of array are not tested for IComparable before the search begins. An exception is thrown if the search encounters an element that does not implement IComparable.

Duplicate elements are allowed. If the Array contains more than one element equal to value, the method returns the index of only one of the occurrences, and not necessarily the first one.

null can always be compared with any other reference type; therefore, comparisons with null do not generate an exception. When sorting, null is considered to be less than any other object.

Note
For every element tested, value is passed to the appropriate IComparable implementation, even if value is null. That is, the IComparable implementation determines how a given element compares to null.

This method is an O(log n) operation, where n is the Length of array.

Examples

The following code example shows how to use BinarySearch to locate a specific object in an Array.

Note
The array is created with its elements in ascending sort order. The BinarySearch method requires the array to be sorted in ascending order.

Visual Basic


Imports System

Public Class SamplesArray
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Creates and initializes a new Array.
        Dim myIntArray As Array = Array.CreateInstance( GetType(Int32), 5 )

        myIntArray.SetValue( 8, 0 )
        myIntArray.SetValue( 2, 1 )
        myIntArray.SetValue( 6, 2 )
        myIntArray.SetValue( 3, 3 )
        myIntArray.SetValue( 7, 4 )

        ' Do the required sort first
        Array.Sort(myIntArray)

        ' Displays the values of the Array.
        Console.WriteLine("The Int32 array contains the following:")
        PrintValues(myIntArray)

        ' Locates a specific object that does not exist in the Array.
        Dim myObjectOdd As Object = 1
        FindMyObject(myIntArray, myObjectOdd)

        ' Locates an object that exists in the Array.
        Dim myObjectEven As Object = 6
        FindMyObject(myIntArray, myObjectEven)
    End Sub

    Public Shared Sub FindMyObject(myArr As Array, myObject As Object)
        Dim myIndex As Integer = Array.BinarySearch(myArr, myObject)
        If  myIndex < 0 Then
            Console.WriteLine("The object to search for ({0}) is not found. The next larger object is at index {1}.", myObject, Not(myIndex))
        Else
            Console.WriteLine("The object to search for ({0}) is at index {1}.", myObject, myIndex)
        End If
    End Sub

    Public Shared Sub PrintValues(myArr As Array)
        Dim i As Integer = 0
        Dim cols As Integer = myArr.GetLength( myArr.Rank - 1 )
        For Each o As Object In myArr
            If i < cols Then
                i += 1
            Else
                Console.WriteLine()
                i = 1
            End If
            Console.Write( vbTab + "{0}", o)
        Next o
        Console.WriteLine()
    End Sub
End Class
' This code produces the following output.
'
' The Int32 array contains the following:
'         2       3       6       7       8
' The object to search for (1) is not found. The next larger object is at index 0
'
' The object to search for (6) is at index 2.


using System;

public class SamplesArray
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Creates and initializes a new Array.
        Array myIntArray = Array.CreateInstance(typeof(Int32), 5);

        myIntArray.SetValue(8, 0);
        myIntArray.SetValue(2, 1);
        myIntArray.SetValue(6, 2);
        myIntArray.SetValue(3, 3);
        myIntArray.SetValue(7, 4);

        // Do the required sort first
        Array.Sort(myIntArray);

        // Displays the values of the Array.
        Console.WriteLine( "The Int32 array contains the following:" );
        PrintValues(myIntArray);

        // Locates a specific object that does not exist in the Array.
        object myObjectOdd = 1;
        FindMyObject( myIntArray, myObjectOdd );

        // Locates an object that exists in the Array.
        object myObjectEven = 6;
        FindMyObject(myIntArray, myObjectEven);
    }

    public static void FindMyObject(Array myArr, object myObject)
    {
        int myIndex=Array.BinarySearch(myArr, myObject);
        if (myIndex < 0)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The object to search for ({0}) is not found. The next larger object is at index {1}.", myObject, ~myIndex );
        }
        else
        {
            Console.WriteLine("The object to search for ({0}) is at index {1}.", myObject, myIndex );
        }
    }


    public static void PrintValues(Array myArr)
    {
        int i = 0;
        int cols = myArr.GetLength(myArr.Rank - 1);
        foreach (object o in myArr)
        {
            if ( i < cols )
            {
                i++;
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine();
                i = 1;
            }
            Console.Write( "\t{0}", o);
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}
// This code produces the following output.
//
//The Int32 array contains the following:
//        2       3       6       7       8
//The object to search for (1) is not found. The next larger object is at index 0
//
//The object to search for (6) is at index 2.

Visual C++


using namespace System;

public ref class SamplesArray
{
public:
    static void Main()
    {
        // Creates and initializes a new Array.
        Array^ myIntArray = Array::CreateInstance(Int32::typeid, 5);

        myIntArray->SetValue(8, 0);
        myIntArray->SetValue(2, 1);
        myIntArray->SetValue(6, 2);
        myIntArray->SetValue(3, 3);
        myIntArray->SetValue(7, 4);

        // Do the required sort first
        Array::Sort(myIntArray);

        // Displays the values of the Array.
        Console::WriteLine("The Int32 array contains the following:");
        PrintValues(myIntArray);

        // Locates a specific object that does not exist in the Array.
        Object^ myObjectOdd = 1;
        FindMyObject(myIntArray, myObjectOdd);

        // Locates an object that exists in the Array.
        Object^ myObjectEven = 6;
        FindMyObject(myIntArray, myObjectEven);
    }

    static void FindMyObject(Array^ myArr, Object^ myObject)
    {
        int myIndex = Array::BinarySearch(myArr, myObject);
        if (myIndex < 0)
        {
            Console::WriteLine("The object to search for ({0}) is not found. The next larger object is at index {1}.", myObject, ~myIndex);
        }
        else
        {
            Console::WriteLine("The object to search for ({0}) is at index {1}.", myObject, myIndex);
        }
    }

    static void PrintValues(Array^ myArr)
    {
        int i = 0;
        int cols = myArr->GetLength(myArr->Rank - 1);
        for each (Object^ o in myArr)
        {
            if ( i < cols )
            {
                i++;
            }
            else
            {
                Console::WriteLine();
                i = 1;
            }
            Console::Write("\t{0}", o);
        }
        Console::WriteLine();
    }
};

int main()
{
    SamplesArray::Main();
}
// This code produces the following output.
//
//The Int32 array contains the following:
//        2       3       6       7       8
//The object to search for (1) is not found. The next larger object is at index 0
//
//The object to search for (6) is at index 2.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Reference

Array Class

BinarySearch Overload

System Namespace

IComparable

Sort

Other Resources

Performing Culture-Insensitive String Operations in Arrays