linear search

An extremely simple algorithm for searching for a particular value in a list. It consists of comparing each element of the list with the key, until the key is found, or the search reaches the end of the list. Nor surprisingly, it runs in linear time. Sample code in C:¹

int linear_search(some_type list[], int n, some_type key)
{
	int i = 0;
	
	while(i < n) {
		if(list[i] == key)
			return i;
		i++;
	}

	return NOT_FOUND;
}