# How to Do a Binary Search in Python Code snippets supplementing the [How to Do a Binary Search in Python](https://realpython.com/binary-search-python/) article. ## Usage ### Download Sample Dataset To download a sample dataset for benchmarking, run the following script: ```shell $ python download_imdb.py Fetching data from IMDb... Created "names.txt" and "sorted_names.txt" ``` ### Benchmark **Note:** The hash-based search algorithm requires a separate data structure, so it's not included here. Feel free to treat it as an exercise. Find the index of Arnold Schwarzenegger in unsorted names using random search: ```shell $ python benchmark.py -a random -f names.txt 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' Loading names...ok [1/10] Found at index=215 (21.68 s) [2/10] Found at index=215 (148.10 ms) [3/10] Found at index=215 (63.49 s) [4/10] Found at index=215 (15.93 s) [5/10] Found at index=215 (23.38 s) [6/10] Found at index=215 (60.98 s) [7/10] Found at index=215 (10.14 s) [8/10] Found at index=215 (15.81 s) [9/10] Found at index=215 (5.10 s) [10/10] Found at index=215 (13.36 s) best=148.10 ms, worst=63.49 s, avg=23.00 s, median=15.87 s ``` Find the index of Arnold Schwarzenegger in unsorted names using linear search: ```shell $ python benchmark.py -a linear -f names.txt 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' Loading names...ok [1/10] Found at index=215 (30.95 Âµs) [2/10] Found at index=215 (26.86 Âµs) [3/10] Found at index=215 (26.26 Âµs) [4/10] Found at index=215 (26.55 Âµs) [5/10] Found at index=215 (26.24 Âµs) [6/10] Found at index=215 (25.88 Âµs) [7/10] Found at index=215 (25.77 Âµs) [8/10] Found at index=215 (25.89 Âµs) [9/10] Found at index=215 (25.91 Âµs) [10/10] Found at index=215 (25.99 Âµs) best=25.77 Âµs, worst=30.95 Âµs, avg=26.63 Âµs, median=26.11 Âµs ``` Find the index of Arnold Schwarzenegger in *sorted* names using binary search: ```shell $ python benchmark.py -a binary -f sorted_names.txt 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' Loading names...ok [1/10] Found at index=782431 (18.82 Âµs) [2/10] Found at index=782431 (9.19 Âµs) [3/10] Found at index=782431 (11.08 Âµs) [4/10] Found at index=782431 (9.70 Âµs) [5/10] Found at index=782431 (10.14 Âµs) [6/10] Found at index=782431 (9.35 Âµs) [7/10] Found at index=782431 (9.42 Âµs) [8/10] Found at index=782431 (8.79 Âµs) [9/10] Found at index=782431 (8.66 Âµs) [10/10] Found at index=782431 (8.79 Âµs) best=8.66 Âµs, worst=18.82 Âµs, avg=10.39 Âµs, median=9.38 Âµs ```