Linear Search
Linear search is a fundamental algorithm for finding a target value within a list or array by sequentially checking each element until a match is found or the list ends. It is a simple, brute-force approach that works on both sorted and unsorted data structures. The algorithm has a time complexity of O(n) in the worst case, where n is the number of elements.
Developers should learn linear search as a foundational concept in computer science, especially for beginners, to understand basic search mechanics and algorithm analysis. It is useful in scenarios with small datasets, unsorted data where sorting is impractical, or when implementing simple lookups in code, such as checking for an item in a short list. However, for large datasets, more efficient algorithms like binary search are preferred.