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 Python.

Method 1: Using Iteration

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

def find_smallest(arr):
    min_val = arr[0]
    for num in arr[1:]:
        if num < min_val:
            min_val = num
    return min_val

arr = [10, 20, 4, 45, 99, 23]
print("Smallest element:", find_smallest(arr))
            

Method 2: Using Sorting

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

arr = [10, 20, 4, 45, 99, 23]
arr.sort()
print("Smallest element:", arr[0])
            

Method 3: Using Recursion

This method finds the smallest element using recursion.

def find_smallest_recursive(arr, n):
    if n == 1:
        return arr[0]
    return min(arr[n - 1], find_smallest_recursive(arr, n - 1))

arr = [10, 20, 4, 45, 99, 23]
print("Smallest element:", find_smallest_recursive(arr, len(arr)))