Monthly Code Challenge

Welcome to our Monthly Code Challenge! Each month, we present a new coding challenge designed to test your skills and expand your knowledge. This month's challenge focuses on algorithmic problem-solving and is suitable for beginners to advanced programmers.

Challenge Overview

• Difficulty Level: Intermediate
• Theme: Sorting and Searching Algorithms
• Description: Implement a function to sort a list of integers and then find the index of the given target number within the sorted list.

Objective

Your task is to create a program that:

1. Accepts a list of integers as input.
2. Sorts the list in ascending order using your chosen sorting algorithm.
3. Returns the index of the target number within the sorted list. If the target is not found, return -1.

Sample Input

[4, 2, 5, 1, 3], 5

Expected Output

3

Resources

• Sorting Algorithms - Learn more about different sorting algorithms and their complexities.
• Searching Algorithms - Understand various searching techniques and their applications.

Example Code

Here's a simple implementation in Python:

def binary_search(arr, target):
    left, right = 0, len(arr) - 1
    while left <= right:
        mid = (left + right) // 2
        if arr[mid] == target:
            return mid
        elif arr[mid] < target:
            left = mid + 1
        else:
            right = mid - 1
    return -1

def sort_and_search(arr, target):
    sorted_arr = sorted(arr)
    return binary_search(sorted_arr, target)

# Example usage
input_list = [4, 2, 5, 1, 3]
target_value = 5
result = sort_and_search(input_list, target_value)
print(result)  # Output: 3

Submission

Share your code in the comments below or via our GitHub repository. We look forward to seeing your solutions!

Happy coding! 🎉