Find Smallest Element in an Array

Understanding Finding Smallest Element

Finding the smallest element in an array involves scanning the array and keeping track of the minimum value encountered.

We will explore three different methods to find the smallest element in an array using C.

Method 1: Using Iteration

This method iterates through the array and finds the smallest element.

#include <stdio.h>

int find_smallest(int arr[], int size) {
    int min_val = arr[0];
    for (int i = 1; i < size; i++) {
        if (arr[i] < min_val) {
            min_val = arr[i];
        }
    }
    return min_val;
}

int main() {
    int arr[] = {10, 20, 4, 45, 99, 23};
    int size = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
    printf("Smallest element: %d", find_smallest(arr, size));
    return 0;
}
            

Method 2: Using Sorting

This method sorts the array and takes the first element as the smallest.

#include <stdio.h>

void sort_array(int arr[], int size) {
    for (int i = 0; i < size - 1; i++) {
        for (int j = i + 1; j < size; j++) {
            if (arr[i] > arr[j]) {
                int temp = arr[i];
                arr[i] = arr[j];
                arr[j] = temp;
            }
        }
    }
}

int main() {
    int arr[] = {10, 20, 4, 45, 99, 23};
    int size = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
    sort_array(arr, size);
    printf("Smallest element: %d", arr[0]);
    return 0;
}
            

Method 3: Using Recursion

This method finds the smallest element using recursion.

#include <stdio.h>

int find_smallest(int arr[], int n) {
    if (n == 1)
        return arr[0];
    int min_val = find_smallest(arr, n - 1);
    return (arr[n - 1] < min_val) ? arr[n - 1] : min_val;
}

int main() {
    int arr[] = {10, 20, 4, 45, 99, 23};
    int size = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
    printf("Smallest element: %d", find_smallest(arr, size));
    return 0;
}