A modification of linked lists is presented which permits searching almost as efficiently as a pure binary search. The method depends on using consecutive memory locations for consecutive list elements whenever possible.

A computer-oriented method is developed for determining relative minima of functions of several variables. No derivatives (or approximations) are required and the process always converges to a relative minimum no matter which initial point is used. Numerical examples using test functions suggested in the literature are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithms. Modifications can easily be incorporated which permit the inclusion of constraints or integer-valued variables.