In Python3, the classic mid = start + (end - start) / 2 throws TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not float

Question

In Python3,

The classic binary search first step mid = start + (end - start) / 2 throws TypeError: list indices must be integers or slices, not float because division yeilds float instead of int by default.

Is there a better way to deal with this than doing int(mid)?

Answer 1

In Python 3, the / operator does floating-point division, even if it's between two integers.

You want // instead, which will perform integer division.