# A SIMD quaternary search algorithm for sorted arrays of 16-bit integers

DevFeed: [A SIMD quaternary search algorithm for sorted arrays of 16-bit integers](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/you-can-beat-the-binary-search-29402.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://lemire.me/blog/2026/04/27/you-can-beat-the-binary-search/>)

Author: Daniel Lemire

Published: 2026-04-27T17:32:13Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Daniel Lemire](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/daniel-lemire.md>)

Topics: [Algorithms](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/algorithms.md>), [C++](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/c-plus-plus.md>), [Data structures](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/data-structures.md>)

Tags: [algorithm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/algorithm.md>), [array](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/array.md>), [c-plus-plus](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/c-plus-plus.md>)

## AI overview

The article explains linear and binary search for sorted arrays, then introduces the SIMD Quad algorithm. The algorithm combines quaternary interpolation search with SIMD instructions to search sorted arrays of 16-bit unsigned integers in fixed-size blocks.

## Source excerpt

We sometimes have to look for a value in a sorted array. The simplest algorithm consists in just going through the values one by one, until we encounter the value, or exhaust the array. We sometimes call this algorithm a linear search. In C++, you can get the desired effect with the std::find function. For ... Continue reading You can beat the binary search