How to perform a binary search on IList<T>?
- by Daniel Brückner
Simple question - given an IList<T> how do you perform a binary search without writing the method yourself and without copying the data to a type with build-in binary search support. My current status is the following.
List<T>.BinarySearch() is not a member of IList<T>
There is no equivalent of the ArrayList.Adapter() method for List<T>
IList<T> does not inherit from IList, hence using ArrayList.Adapter() is not possible
I tend to believe that is not possible with build-in methods, but I cannot believe that such a basic method is missing from the BCL/FCL.
If it is not possible, who can give the shortest, fastest, smartest, or most beatiful binary search implementation for IList<T>?
UPDATE
We all know that a list must be sorted before using binary search, hence you can assume that it is. But I assume (but did not verify) it is the same problem with sort - how do you sort IList<T>?
CONCLUSION
There seems to be no build-in binary search for IList<T>. One can use First() and OrderBy() LINQ methods to search and sort, but it will likly have a performance hit. Implementing it yourself (as an extension method) seems the best you can do.
