Programming Zhu Ji Nanxiong---internal loop optimization

In the 9th chapter of the Code Tuning section of programming Zhu Ji Nanxiong, there's a little tip. The author talks about the optimization problem of the loop in sequential search, the source code is as follows:

<span style= "FONT-SIZE:18PX;" >int Search () {for
	(int i=0;i<n;i++) {
		if (x[i]==t)
			return i;
		return-1;
	}
}
</span>

The loop is already very concise, but it can be a little more streamlined.

There are two kinds of tests in the inner loop: the first Test checks if I have reached the end of the array, and the second Test verifies that X[i] is the desired element. As long as you place a sentinel value at the end of the array, you can replace the first test with the second one.

<span style= "FONT-SIZE:18PX;" >int Search2 () {
	int hold = X[n], x[n] = t;
	for (int i=0;; i++) {
		if (x[i] = = t) break
		;
	}
	X[n] = hold;
	if (i = = n)
		return-1;
	else
		return i;
}
</span>

In the article, the author mentions that this improvement has led to a 5% speedup in the overall program's running time.