An automated warehouse retrieval system stores inventory in a single long row of numbered bays, sorted in ascending order of their numerical product codes. To locate a specific target product code within this sorted list, the system's software executes a binary search algorithm.
Describe how this binary search algorithm operates to find the location of the target product code.
159 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Computer Science Algorithms, covering Constructs for solving problems, Variables, constants and data structures, Arithmetic, relational and logical operators, Tracing algorithm output with trace tables, Types of error and correcting logic errors, Standard algorithms (sorts and searches), and Evaluating algorithm fitness and efficiency. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.