trekhleb / trekhleb/javascript-algorithms

Infinite loop in interpolationSearch

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Dominant language
JavaScript
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Description

Details:

Some entries might cause interpolationSearch to fall into an infinite loop.
Step to reproduce: interpolationSearch([0, 3], 6)

How did I find it?

Thanks to property based testing framework fast-check.
The property was the following:

import fc from 'fast-check';

fc.assert(
  fc.property(
    fc.array(fc.integer()).map(arr => [...arr].sort((a, b) => a - b)),
    fc.integer(),
    (arr, i) => expect(interpolationSearch(arr, i)).toBe(arr.indexOf(i))
  )
)

Or:

for any arr - sorted array of integers - and i - integer value
interpolationSearch(arr, i) should be equivalent to arr.indexOf(i)

Contributor guide

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Locate the interpolationSearch entry point and reproduce the reported case, interpolationSearch([0, 3], 6). Then run or extend the relevant tests with the stated sorted-array property; done means searches terminate and return the same result as arr.indexOf(i).

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
52/100

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