Which of the following is generally true about deleting an element from the middle of an array?

Options

  • A. It always takes O(1) time
  • B. Remaining elements may need to be shifted
  • C. It requires binary search
  • D. More than one of the above
  • E. None of the above

Correct Answer (Detailed Explanation is Below)

B. Remaining elements may need to be shifted

Detailed Explanation

When an element is deleted from the middle of an array, the elements after it generally need to be shifted one position toward the beginning to maintain the contiguous arrangement. Consequently, deletion at an arbitrary position usually takes O(n) time in the worst case. If the element being deleted is the last element, no shifting may be necessary. This is one reason linked lists can be preferable when frequent insertions and deletions are required at known positions.