binary_search

def binary_search( array, key):
	low = 0
	high = len( array) - 1
	print "key :", key
	print ""
	
	while high >= low:
		mid = ( low + high ) // 2
		midval = array[ mid ]
		print "low =", low, " mid =", mid, " high =", high," midval=", midval
		print ""
		if midval < key:
			low = mid + 1
		elif midval > key:
			high = mid - 1
		else:
			return mid
	return None
	
a = [ 5, 12, 17, 23, 38, 44, 77, 84, 90]
place = binary_search( a , 44 )
print "Place:" , 5 

In line 22, you should have the "place" variable instead of 5. Of course the correct value is 5 but it should be obtained trough the binary search function.