template <class elemType>
int binarySearch(const elemType list[], int length,
 int& comparisons, const elemType& searchItem)
{
 // TODO
 int mid = -1;
 int min = 0;
 int max = length - 1;
 while (max >= min)
 {
  mid = (max + min) / 2;
  comparisons++;
  if (searchItem == list[mid])  // if value is found, return the position
  {
   return mid;
  }
  else if (searchItem < list[mid])
  {
   comparisons++;
   max = mid - 1;
  }
  else
  {
   comparisons++;
   min = mid + 1;
  }
 }