Find the Largest and Smallest in an Array

📌 Definition:

📖 Detailed Explanation:

Initialize both min and max to the first element, then scan the rest, updating each as needed. One pass is O(n) and beats sorting. Handle empty arrays explicitly.

💻 Solutions:

• Java
• JavaScript
• Python

public static int[] minMax(int[] a) {
    int min = a[0], max = a[0];
    for (int x : a) { if (x < min) min = x; if (x > max) max = x; }
    return new int[]{min, max};
}

function minMax(a) {
  let min = a[0], max = a[0];
  for (const x of a) { if (x < min) min = x; if (x > max) max = x; }
  return { min, max };
}

def min_max(a):
    return min(a), max(a)

🔑 Key Points:

• Initialize min and max to the first element
• One pass — O(n), no sorting
• Handle empty input
• Track both simultaneously

🌍 Real-World Example: