Find the Closest Min-Max using Javascript

The Min Max algorithm efficiently finds the minimum (min) and maximum (max) values in an array of numbers. This approach involves traversing the array while keeping track of the current minimum and maximum values encountered.

Problem Description

Given an array A, find the size of the smallest subarray such that it contains at least one occurrence of the maximum value of the array and at least one occurrence of the minimum value of the array.

Problem Constraints

1 <= |A| <= 2000

Input Format

First and only argument is vector A

Output Format

Return the length of the smallest subarray which has at least one occurrence of minimum and maximum element of the array.

Example Input / Output

Input 1:
A = [1, 3, 2]
Input 2:
A = [2, 6, 1, 6, 9]

Output 1:
2
Output 2:
3

Example Explanation

Explanation 1:
Take the 1st and 2nd elements as they are the minimum and maximum elements respectievly.
Explanation 2:
Take the last 3 elements of the array.

Program Steps

Steps to Implement the MinMax Algorithm:

1. Initialization
   • Start by initializing two variables, min and max, with the values of the first element in the array.
2. Iterate through the Array
   • Traverse the array from the second element to the last element.
   • For each element:
     • Compare it with the current min value. If the element is smaller than min, update min to be this element.
     • Compare it with the current max value. If the element is larger than max, update max to be this element.
3. Result
   • After traversing the entire array, min will contain the smallest value and max the largest value.
4. Edge Cases
   • Handle arrays with zero elements by returning appropriate values or indicators as needed.

JavaScript Output

function findMinMax(arr) {
    if (arr.length === 0) {
        return { min: null, max: null };
    }

    let min = arr[0];
    let max = arr[0];

    for (let i = 1; i < arr.length; i++) {
        if (arr[i] < min) {
            min = arr[i];
        }
        if (arr[i] > max) {
            max = arr[i];
        }
    }

    return { min: min, max: max };
}

// Example usage:
const array = [3, 5, 1, 8, 2, 9, -1];
const result = findMinMax(array);
console.log(`Min: ${result.min}, Max: ${result.max}`);  // Output: Min: -1, Max: 9