Algorithm to find the minimum

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Okay am a beginner programmer and i DON'T have a computer science degree so bare with me. I run into a problem where i need to find an element in an array that appears only once. With my high school math i think this is effectively trying to search for the inverse of mode right? can anyone explain to me an algorithm that finds the opposite of mode in simple layman terms (please avoid the O(nLogn) jargon unless you can explain it) when given a data set?

I.e. given a dataset = [0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8 ] return the dataset = [2], wheres the math in this

Thank you in advance for your help and time

Posted 15-Apr-10 6:36am

CyberSamuraiii

Updated 15-Apr-10 8:16am

v2

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Solution 4

The algorithm I use looks like this:

Dim Min As Integer = Data(0)
For Each val As Integer In Data
    If Min < val Then Min = val
Next

'Min now contains the first minimum value

Basically, set your minimum holder to the first element. Then iterate through the set: if the element is less than the current minimum, it becomes the minimum. If the element is the same as the current minimum, it is passed by. (This is useful only when dealing with complex objects where you are looking for the minimum of, say, MyUser.LastLogon.)

I leave it as an excercise to rewrite this to find the maximum value. ;P

Posted 15-Apr-10 10:36am

Gregory Gadow

Updated 15-Apr-10 10:37am

v2

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OriginalGriff · Accepted Answer · 2010-04-15T08:21:00

I'm not sure there is a formal algorithm for this (I could be wrong), but the simplest way is just to scan through: if the current element is not the same as either of the elements to either side, it is unique. Pretty simple, isn't it? Or am I missing something?

Oh, and the word you want is bear - I am not stripping at my desk, with or without you! :laugh:

DaveAuld · Accepted Answer · 2010-04-16T03:35:00

Solution 5

Use the inbuilt methods of the List(of ) class to find the min or max values, e.g.

VB.NET

Dim ints() As Integer = {11, 3, 5, 2, 8, 9}
Dim intList As New List(Of Integer)(ints)

MsgBox(intList.Min)

Posted 16-Apr-10 3:35am

DaveAuld

**Dalek Dave** · Accepted Answer · 2010-04-15T10:28:00

Loop through the values, from element 1 to element 11.
Put a test in, if dataset[a] <> dataset [a-1] AND dataset [a] <> dataset[a+1] then ... {do what you need to do to flag it}.

In the dataset given, 2 would be flagged up, but it may be that there are several 'individual' items in a dataset, they could all be flagged.

Algorithm to find the minimum

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