Cambridge (CIE) O Level Your notes

Computer Science
Standard Methods of a Solution
Contents
Linear Search & Bubble Sort
Other Standard Methods of a Solution

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 Linear Search & Bubble Sort
Your notes
Linear Search
What is a searching algorithm?
Searching algorithms are precise step-by-step instructions that a computer can follow
to efficiently locate specific data in massive datasets

What is a linear search?

A linear search starts with the first value in a dataset and checks every value one at a
time until all values have been checked
A linear search can be performed even if the values are not in order

How do you perform a linear search?

Step Instruction

1 Check the first value

2 IF it is the value you are looking for

STOP!

3 ELSE move to the next value and check

4 REPEAT UNTIL you have checked all values and not found the value you are looking
for

Examiner Tips and Tricks

You will not be asked to perform a linear search on a dataset in the exam, you will be
expected to understand how to do it and know the advantages and disadvantages of
performing it

A linear search in Pseudocode

// Declare variables
DECLARE data : ARRAY[1:5] OF INTEGER
DECLARE target : INTEGER
DECLARE found : BOOLEAN

// Assign values to the array and target

data ← [5, 2, 8, 1, 9]

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target ← 11
found ← FALSE // Start with the assumption that the target is not found
Your notes
// Loop through each element in the array
FOR index ← 1 TO 5
// Check if the current element matches the target
IF data[index] = target THEN
found ← TRUE
OUTPUT "Target found"
ENDIF
NEXT index

// After the loop, check if the target was never found

IF found = FALSE THEN
OUTPUT "Target not found"
ENDIF

A linear search in Python code

# Identify the dataset to search, the target value and set the initial flag
data = [5, 2, 8, 1, 9]
target = 11
found = False

# Loop through each element in the data

for index in range(0, len(data)): # loop to go through all elements
# Check if the current element matches the target
if data[index] == target:
# If found, output message
found = True
print("Target found")
break # Exit the loop if the target is found

# If the target is not found, output a message

if not found:
print("Target not found")

Bubble Sort
What is a sorting algorithm?
Sorting algorithms are precise step-by-step instructions that a computer can follow
to efficiently sort data in massive datasets

What is a bubble sort?

A bubble sort is a simple sorting algorithm that starts at the beginning of a dataset and
checks values in 'pairs' and swaps them if they are not in the correct order
One full run of comparisons from beginning to end is called a 'pass', a bubble sort may
require multiple 'passes' to sort the dataset
The algorithm is finished when there are no more swaps to make

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How do you perform a bubble sort?
Your notes
Step Instruction

1 Compare the first two values in the dataset

2 IF they are in the wrong order...

Swap them

3 Compare the next two values

4 REPEAT step 2 & 3 until you reach the end of the dataset (pass 1)

5 IF you have made any swaps...

REPEAT from the start (pass 2,3,4...)

6 ELSE you have not made any swaps...

STOP! the list is in the correct order

Example
Perform a bubble sort on the following dataset

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 5 2 4 1 6 3
Your notes
Step Instruction

1 Compare the first two values in the dataset

5 2 4 1 6 3

2 IF they are in the wrong order...

Swap them

2 5 4 1 6 3

3 Compare the next two values

2 5 4 1 6 3

4 REPEAT step 2 & 3 until you reach the end of the dataset
5 & 4 SWAP!

2 4 5 1 6 3

5 & 1 SWAP!

2 4 1 5 6 3

5 & 6 NO SWAP!

2 4 1 5 6 3

6 & 3 SWAP!

2 4 1 5 3 6

End of pass 1

5 IF you have made any swaps...

REPEAT from the start
End of pass 2 (swaps made)

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 2 1 4 3 5 6
Your notes
End of pass 3 (swaps made)

1 2 3 4 5 6

End of pass 4 (no swaps)

1 2 3 4 5 6

6 ELSE you have not made any swaps...

STOP! the list is in the correct order

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In the exam you do not have to show every swap that takes place in a bubble sort. You
can show the outcome of a bubble sort at the end of each pass. If you have the
outcome of each pass correct then a bubble sort has been implemented correctly
and all marks will be given!

A bubble sort in Pseudocode

// Declare the array

DECLARE nums : ARRAY[1:11] OF INTEGER
nums ← [66, 7, 69, 50, 42, 80, 71, 321, 67, 8, 39]

// Store the length of the array

DECLARE numlength : INTEGER
numlength ← 11

// Set a flag to check if any swaps are made

DECLARE swaps : BOOLEAN
swaps ← TRUE

// Repeat the loop while swaps are being made

WHILE swaps = TRUE
swaps ← FALSE

// Loop through the array from the start to the second-last unsorted element
FOR y ← 1 TO numlength - 1
// If the current number is greater than the next number, swap them
IF nums[y] > nums[y + 1] THEN
DECLARE temp : INTEGER
temp ← nums[y]
nums[y] ← nums[y + 1]

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 nums[y + 1] ← temp

swaps ← TRUE // A swap was made Your notes

ENDIF
NEXT y

// Decrease the range as the last value is now sorted

numlength ← numlength - 1
ENDWHILE

// Output the sorted array

FOR i ← 1 TO 11
OUTPUT nums[i]
NEXT i

A bubble sort in Python code

# Unsorted dataset
nums = [66, 7, 69, 50, 42, 80, 71, 321, 67, 8, 39]

# Count the length of the dataset

numlength = len(nums)

# Set a flag to initiate the loop

swaps = True

while swaps: # While any swap is made, continue

swaps = False
# Loop through the dataset
for y in range(numlength - 1): # Compare adjacent elements
if nums[y] > nums[y + 1]: # If the first number is bigger
# Swap the numbers using a temporary variable
nums[y], nums[y + 1] = nums[y + 1], nums[y]
swaps = True # Mark that a swap was made

# Each iteration confirms that the last element is in place

numlength -= 1

# Print the sorted list

print(nums)

Worked Example
A program uses a file to store a list of words.

A sample of this data is shown

Milk Eggs Bananas Cheese Potatoes Grapes

Show the stages of a bubble sort when applied to data shown [2]

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How to answer this question
We need to sort the values in to alphabetical order from A-Z Your notes
You CAN use the first letter of each word to simplify the process
Answer
E, B, C, M, G, P (pass 1)
B, C, E, G, M, P (pass 2)

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 Other Standard Methods of a Solution
Your notes
Totalling & Counting
What is totalling?
Totalling is keeping a running total of values entered into the algorithm
An example may be totalling a receipt for purchases made at a shop
In the example below, the total starts at 0 and adds up the user inputted value for each
item in the list

Pseudocode

Total ← 0
FOR Count ← 1 TO ReceiptLength
INPUT ItemValue
Total ← Total + itemValue
NEXT Count
OUTPUT Total

What is counting?
Counting is when a count is incremented or decremented by a fixed value, usually 1,
each time it iterates
Counting keeps track of the number of times an action has been performed
Many algorithms use counting, including the linear search to track which element is
currently being considered
In the example below, the count is incremented and each pass number is output until
fifty outputs have been produced

Pseudocode

Count ← 0
DO
OUTPUT “Pass number”, Count
Count ← Count + 1
UNTIL Count >= 50

In the example below, the count is decremented from fifty until the count reaches zero.
An output is produced for each pass

Pseudocode

Count ← 50
DO
OUTPUT “Pass number”, Count

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 Count ← Count - 1
UNTIL Count <= 0
Your notes

Maximum, Minimum & Average

Finding the largest (max), smallest (min) and average (mean) values in a list are frequently
used method in algorithms
Examples could include:
Calculating the maximum and minimum student grades or scores in a game
Calculating the average grade of students in a class test
In the example below, in a list of student test scores, the highest, lowest and average
scores are calculated and displayed to the screen

Pseudocode

Total ← 0
Scores ← [25, 11, 84, 91, 27]

Highest ← max(Scores)
Lowest ← min(Scores)

# Loop through the scores in the list (indexing starts from 0)

FOR Count ← 0 TO LENGTH(Scores) - 1
# Add score to total
Total ← Total + Scores[Count]
NEXT Count

# Calculate average
Average ← Total / LENGTH(Scores)

OUTPUT "The highest score is:", Highest

OUTPUT "The lowest score is:", Lowest
OUTPUT "The average score is:", Average

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