Are Average Case and Worst Case always the same?
For simple searches, yes (both O(N)). But for complex algorithms like Quick Sort or Hash Map insertions, the average case is significantly faster than the worst case.
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Designing for the worst case ensures that the software will remain stable and performant under extreme load, preventing unexpected timeouts and crashes.
The best case is O(1) Constant Time, which happens if the target element is located at the very first index of the array.
Rarely, but they may ask about the Average Case to test your deeper understanding of how algorithms perform probabilistically in the real world.
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