Smallest Element

L1 Easy Arrays & Hashing

Concept

The same champion technique that found the maximum finds the minimum — just flip the comparison.

Return the single smallest integer in nums. You may assume the array always has at least one element.

Examples

▸ nums = [3, 9, 2, 7]

→ 2

▸ nums = [-1, -5, -2]

→ -5

▸ nums = [7]

→ 7

Progressive Hints

Hint 1 · Nudge

Same keeper trick as largest-element, but you hang onto the smallest instead.

Hint 2 · Plan

Start with the first element as your answer. Scan the rest and replace your answer whenever you find a smaller value.

Hint 3 · Approach

best = nums[0]. For each remaining n: if n < best then best = n. Return best.

Output

// Run your code to see the output here.