Finding Maximum and Minimum Values in an Array using C

This C program will find the maximum and minimum values in an array using a for loop. The program will first initialize an array with some values, then it will use a for loop to iterate through the array and find the maximum and minimum values.

Code Explanation

The following C program will find the maximum and minimum values in an array using a for loop.

// C program to find the maximum and minimum values in an array
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int array[10] = {10, 50, 30, 20, 40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100};
    int max = array[0];
    int min = array[0];
    int i;

    // Use a for loop to find the maximum and minimum values
    for (i = 1; i < 10; i++) {
        if (array[i] > max) {
            max = array[i];
        } else if (array[i] < min) {
            min = array[i];
        }
    }

    // Print the maximum and minimum values
    printf("Maximum value in the array: %d\n", max);
    printf("Minimum value in the array: %d\n", min);

    return 0;
}

How the Program Works

The program works as follows:

• The program first initializes an array with 10 values.
• The program then initializes two variables, max and min, to the first value in the array.
• The program then uses a for loop to iterate through the array, starting from the second value (index 1).
• Inside the loop, the program checks if the current value is greater than the max value. If it is, the program updates the max value.
• The program also checks if the current value is less than the min value. If it is, the program updates the min value.
• After the loop finishes, the program prints the maximum and minimum values.

Example Output

When you run the program, it will output the following:

Maximum value in the array: 100
Minimum value in the array: 10

Tips and Variations

Here are some tips and variations for the program:

• You can modify the program to find the maximum and minimum values in a dynamically allocated array.
• You can modify the program to find the maximum and minimum values in a 2D array.
• You can modify the program to find the maximum and minimum values in an array of floating-point numbers.

Common Errors

Here are some common errors to watch out for when writing this program:

• Forgetting to initialize the max and min variables.
• Using the wrong loop variable (e.g., using i instead of array[i]).
• Forgetting to update the max and min values inside the loop.

Conclusion

In this program, we used a for loop to find the maximum and minimum values in an array. We initialized the max and min variables to the first value in the array, then used a loop to iterate through the array and update the max and min values as needed. Finally, we printed the maximum and minimum values.

FAQs

Q: What is the purpose of the for loop in this program?

A: The for loop is used to iterate through the array and find the maximum and minimum values.

Q: Why do we initialize the max and min variables to the first value in the array?

A: We initialize the max and min variables to the first value in the array because we need a starting point for our comparison. By initializing them to the first value, we can compare the rest of the values in the array to this initial value.

Q: What would happen if we forgot to update the max and min values inside the loop?

A: If we forgot to update the max and min values inside the loop, the program would not correctly find the maximum and minimum values in the array. The max and min variables would remain initialized to the first value in the array, and the program would print incorrect results.