Finding the Largest Element in an Array

Overview

The goal is to find the largest element in an array. The approach involves iterating through the array and updating a variable (largest) whenever a larger element is encountered.

Algorithm Description

1. Initialize a variable (largest) with the value of the first element in the array.

   • This sets the initial reference value for the largest element.

int largest = arr[0];

2. Iterate through the array and update the largest variable when a larger element is found.

   • Compare each element in the array with the current value of largest.

   • If an element is greater than the current largest, update the largest variable.

for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
    if (arr[i] > largest) {
        largest = arr[i];
    }
}

Time Complexity

The time complexity of finding the largest element in an array using this approach is O(n), where n is the number of elements in the array. The algorithm iterates through the array once.

Usage

To find the largest element in an array, use the provided approach by initializing a variable (largest) with the first element and iterating through the array to update the variable as needed.

Example

Consider the array: [10, 5, 25, 8, 15]

int largest = arr[0];

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
    if (arr[i] > largest) {
        largest = arr[i];
    }
}

// At this point, 'largest' contains the value 25

Note

This simple approach efficiently finds the largest element in an array by iterating through the array once and updating a variable. Adjustments can be made based on specific project needs.