Binary search over HTTP — each step is a real network fetch
| Step | Source | Record | Comparison | Time |
|---|
1 Standard binary search always picks the middle record, ignoring the actual values. Interpolation search makes a smarter guess based on where the target codepoint falls proportionally between the known boundary values — like opening a phone book near the back for “W” rather than always opening to the middle. Within each signpost interval the codepoints are roughly evenly distributed, so the first guess is often very close, reducing the number of HTTP fetches needed.