Search and Intervals

Complete the classic binary search — the bounds, the loop condition, and the midpoint that everything else leans on.

Return where a value belongs in a sorted array — the count of elements strictly smaller — with a half-open binary search.

Collapse a list of intervals into the disjoint set — sort by start, then sweep once.

An interval merge handles every overlap the tests throw at it, then silently shrinks a window that contained a smaller one. Find the line that overwrites instead of extending.