find_the_smallest_element_in_an_array.md

Find the Smallest Element in an Array

Find the Smallest Element in an Array

To find the smallest element in an array, iterate through the array and keep track of the smallest element.

Algorithm:

1. Initialize a variable to store the smallest element with a large value (e.g., Infinity).
2. Iterate through the array and compare each element to the current smallest value.
3. Update the smallest value whenever a smaller element is found.
4. Return the smallest value.

Example:

function findSmallest(arr) {
    let smallest = Infinity;

    for (const num of arr) {
        if (num < smallest) {
            smallest = num;
        }
    }

    return smallest;
}

// Example usage
console.log(findSmallest([5, 3, 8, 1, 6])); // Output: 1
console.log(findSmallest([7, 4, 9, 2])); // Output: 2

This method has a time complexity of O(n), where n is the length of the array.

Tags: basic, JavaScript, Arrays, Algorithm