Finding the smallest value

I'm running a loop where I'm trying to find the smallest value in an array. Does anyone know of a way in which I can assign the first value in the first pass to the variable that is supposed to hold the smallest value in such a way that I don't have to add a conditional statement saying that if i = 0 to automatically assign it. I also don't want to initialize the variable to some ridiculously large number. For example:

Code:

int minimum_value = 10000000 // I don't want to do this
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for(i=0;array[i]<elements;i++)
   {
     if(i==0) minimum_value = array[i]; // I don't want to have to do this
     if(array[i] < minimum_value) minimum_value = array[i];
    }
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Assign the first element of array to minimum_value and start the loop with i=1.

maybe something like this

Code:

int x;
int g;
int smallest;

smallest=0;

 for(x=0;x>(elements numbers);x++)
      {
            if(array[x]<smallest||array[x]==smallest) /*because it's equals to zero */ 
                {
                    smallest=array[x];
                 }
       }

printf("The Smallest Value In The Array Is &#37;d",smallest);

I would say that's wrong, because you're assuming the minimum element is less than 0, which may or may not be the case (probably not a good assumption for a general solution).

OnionKnight has the right idea.

Originally Posted by MacGyver

I would say that's wrong, because you're assuming the minimum element is less than 0, which may or may not be the case (probably not a good assumption for a general solution).

OnionKnight has the right idea.

i have just modified it

If I give you an int array of size 5 with the following numbers, what would your code print?

Code:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Assuming you fix the > to be <, it would print 0.

Initializing the variable to a "ridiculously large" number is actually the right thing to do, to handle the case where the array is empty (0 elements). Instead of hardcoding the value, you should get it from <limits.h> - for example, if i is an int, use INT_MAX.

I did something similar with my terrain map generator. It had 144,000 values to check and I wanted to know the current peaks and valleys. For the valleys, you'd have a value that is much beyond what would be expected above. The mountains go a bit above 22,000 feet so I set it to 99,999 feet for the minimum (it's like any mountain (except Olympus Mons) would be that high). The same goes for the peak - I set it to a value well below what I intended on - -9999 feet. This way, if I scan within an area, the values will always be what I expect for minimums and maximums. The only other alternative is to just use the first element in the array as the minimums and maximums then as the array is scanned, they are set accordingly. Both methods would produce the expected results regardless of where you start in the array.

@robatino: How can an array be empty? Defining one as "sample[0]" seems rather meaningless.

1. What is the return value of the function if the array is empty ? This is an important choice and might influence the used algorithm greatly.

2. Another simple idea is to sort the array ascending in which case the smallest number is the first one.

3. In case the array is not empty, the following does what you want:

Code:

int i;
int smallestNumber = myArray[0];
for (i = 1; i < myArraySize; i++)
  if (myArray[i] < smallestNumber)
    smallestNumber = myArray[i];

Additionally, I usually save the index of the smallest number and not the number itself, in which case the algorithm looks like:
might influence the used algorithm greatly.

2. Another simple idea is to sort the array ascending in which case the smallest number is the first one.

3. In case the array is not empty, the following does what you want:

Code:

int i;
int smallestIndex = 0;
for (i = 1; i < myArraySize; i++)
  if (myArray[i] < myArray[smallestIndex])
    smallestIndex = i;

Obviously, with the last algorithm, the smallest number is myArray[smallestIndex].

> @robatino: How can an array be empty? Defining one as "sample[0]" seems rather meaningless.
If it's a dynamic array with size determined at runtime, it's perfectly plausible that it could be empty. For example, if a set is partitioned into subsets, then some of the subsets may be empty even if the original set isn't. In this case, an algorithm that computes the minimum by taking the minimum of the minimums for each of the subsets will work only if the minimum handles empty sets properly.

The first reply in this thread had the easiest/most efficient answer, and you guys are still going at it...

There's no need to find some out of range value as the initializer. Like OnionKnight said, just initialize it with the first element in the array. If that first element happens to be the smallest number, great. Otherwise, it will be found while iterating through the array.

You should never be trying to find the smallest number in an empty array. You should have a special check prior to that logic to see if the array is empty. But that's not what the OP was asking about.

Originally Posted by MacGyver

If I give you an int array of size 5 with the following numbers, what would your code print?

Code:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Assuming you fix the > to be <, it would print 0.

yeah thats right i've tried that
but i didn't get that point

Assign the first element of array to minimum_value and start the loop with i=1.

-snip-
assign the first element of the array to minimum_value
-snip-
you mean for example like this

Code:

for(i=1;i>elements number;i++)
    {
        if(array[x]<array[0])
          {
             array[0]=array[x];
          }
    }

sorry but i don't have a compiler right now

lol

Code:

#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{

int x;

int array[]={20,33,4563,445645,545645,64566,55456,4456,645645,445,65,54,65,456454};

     for(x=1;x<14;x++)
      {
            if(array[x]>array[0])
                {
                    array[0]=array[x];
                 }
       }

   printf("The Smallest Value In The Array Is &#37;d",array[0]);

return 0;
}

it works
and i tried to work on my indentation
but why it didn't work when i used the first example
maybe because i assumed that the smallest value wouldn't be smaller than 0??
and i guess that OnionKnight's idea is some kind of sorting right ?

That only works because the smallest value in the array happens to be the first element. You don't want to have to change the values in your array.

Change your for loop to:

Code:

for(smallest = array[0], x = 1;x < 14;++x)
  if(array[x] < smallest)
    smallest = array[x];

No, I believe he means:

Code:

int i = array[0];

for(int j=1;j<arraySize;j++)
{
   if (i > array[j])
   {
      i = j;
   }
}

or something similar.

edit: or what itsme86 said for more compact