Skip to content

fix: handle empty input in jump_search - #14807

Merged
cclauss merged 3 commits into
TheAlgorithms:masterfrom
pony-maggie:jump-search-empty-input
Sep 6, 2026
Merged

fix: handle empty input in jump_search#14807
cclauss merged 3 commits into
TheAlgorithms:masterfrom
pony-maggie:jump-search-empty-input

Conversation

@pony-maggie

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Describe your change:

Fixed jump_search([], item) so it returns -1 instead of raising IndexError.

Why

The function documents -1 as the result when the item is not found. An empty collection is a valid not-found case and should not attempt to index into the sequence.

How tested

  • RED: /opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.14/bin/python3.14 -m doctest -v searches/jump_search.py failed with IndexError before the fix
  • /opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.14/bin/python3.14 -m doctest -v searches/jump_search.py
  • /tmp/thealgorithms-py314-pytest/bin/python -m pytest --doctest-modules searches/jump_search.py -q
  • Randomized comparison against expected search results for 200 generated sorted lists
  • git diff --check
  • Add an algorithm?
  • Fix a bug or typo in an existing algorithm?
  • Add or change doctests? -- Note: Please avoid changing both code and tests in a single pull request.
  • Documentation change?

Checklist:

  • I have read CONTRIBUTING.md.
  • This pull request is all my own work -- I have not plagiarized.
  • I know that pull requests will not be merged if they fail the automated tests.
  • This PR only changes one algorithm file. To ease review, please open separate PRs for separate algorithms.
  • All new Python files are placed inside an existing directory.
  • All filenames are in all lowercase characters with no spaces or dashes.
  • All functions and variable names follow Python naming conventions.
  • All function parameters and return values are annotated with Python type hints.
  • All functions have doctests that pass the automated testing.
  • All new algorithms include at least one URL that points to Wikipedia or another similar explanation.
  • If this pull request resolves one or more open issues then the description above includes the issue number(s) with a closing keyword: "Fixes #ISSUE-NUMBER".

@algorithms-keeper algorithms-keeper Bot added enhancement This PR modified some existing files awaiting reviews This PR is ready to be reviewed labels Jun 15, 2026

@priya-sundaram-dev priya-sundaram-dev left a comment

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Correct edge-case fix: jump_search([], item) previously computed block_size = int(math.sqrt(0)) = 0 and could loop/misbehave; returning -1 for an empty array is the right contract and matches the "not found" return. Doctest added, CI green. LGTM ✅

Note for the maintainers: #15101 is an identical fix to the same function — this one (#14807) came first, so I'd suggest merging this and closing #15101 as a duplicate.

@algorithms-keeper algorithms-keeper Bot removed the awaiting reviews This PR is ready to be reviewed label Sep 6, 2026
@cclauss
cclauss merged commit 13f7140 into TheAlgorithms:master Sep 6, 2026
5 checks passed
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

enhancement This PR modified some existing files

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

5 participants