Array.BinarySearch Method (Array, Object)
[ This article is for Windows Phone 8 developers. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation. ]
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.
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
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.Int32The 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).
| 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. |
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.
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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.
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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.
The following code example shows how to use BinarySearch to locate a specific object in an Array.
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The array is created with its elements in ascending sort order. The BinarySearch method requires the array to be sorted in ascending order. |
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To run this example, see Building examples that have static TextBlock controls for Windows Phone 8. |
using System; public class Example { public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock) { // Creates and initializes a new Array. Array myIntArray = Array.CreateInstance(typeof(Int32), 5); for (int i = myIntArray.GetLowerBound(0); i <= myIntArray.GetUpperBound(0); i++) myIntArray.SetValue(i * 2, i); // Do the required sort first Array.Sort(myIntArray); // Displays the values of the Array. outputBlock.Text += "The Int32 array contains the following:" + "\n"; PrintValues(outputBlock, myIntArray); // Locates a specific object that does not exist in the Array. Object myObjectOdd = 3; FindMyObject(outputBlock, myIntArray, myObjectOdd); // Locates an object that exists in the Array. Object myObjectEven = 6; FindMyObject(outputBlock, myIntArray, myObjectEven); } public static void FindMyObject(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock, Array myArr, Object myObject) { int myIndex = Array.BinarySearch(myArr, myObject); if (myIndex < 0) outputBlock.Text += String.Format("The object to search for ({0}) is not found. The next larger object is at index {1}.", myObject, ~myIndex) + "\n"; else outputBlock.Text += String.Format("The object to search for ({0}) is at index {1}.", myObject, myIndex) + "\n"; } public static void PrintValues(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock, Array myArr) { System.Collections.IEnumerator myEnumerator = myArr.GetEnumerator(); int i = 0; int cols = myArr.GetLength(myArr.Rank - 1); while (myEnumerator.MoveNext()) { if (i < cols) { i++; } else { outputBlock.Text += "\n"; i = 1; } outputBlock.Text += String.Format("\t{0}", myEnumerator.Current); } outputBlock.Text += "\n"; } } /* This code produces the following output. The Int32 array contains the following: 0 2 4 6 8 The object to search for (3) is not found. The next larger object is at index 2. The object to search for (6) is at index 3. */
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