Textbook errors in binary searching
Richard E. Pattis · ACM SIGCSE Bulletin · 1988
This paper discusses the specification and implementation of binary searching. It begins by presenting a “standard” set of declarations, a specification, and a binary searching procedure written in Pascal. This procedure does not meet the specification: it contains five errors that also occur in many CS-1 and CS-2 textbooks. We will locate and study these errors, and show alternative procedures that correct them in a simple and understandable way.