Get Maximum and Minimum from a Slice in Go

In this article, we will see how to fetch maximum and minimum elements from a slice. A slice is a sequence of elements just like an array. An array is a fixed sequence of elements whereas a slice is a dynamic array, meaning its value is not fixed and can be changed. Slices are more efficient and faster than arrays moreover; they are passed by reference instead by value. Let us understand this basic concept using different set of examples and algorithms based upon them.

Method 1: Using the Helper Function

In this method, we will learn how to get the maximum and minimum elements from the slice using an external function. The min and max value obtained will be printed on the screen using fmt.Println() function which is used for printing the statements in Golang.

Syntax

func append(slice, element_1, element_2?, element_N) []T

The append function is used to add values to an array slice. It takes number of arguments. The first argument is the array to which we wish to add the values followed by the values to add. The function then returns the final slice of array containing all the values.

Algorithm

• Step 1 ? Create a package main and declare fmt(format package) package in the program where main produces executable codes and fmt helps in formatting input and output.

• Step 2 ? Create a function main and in that function create a slice and some values inside it using append function.

• Step 3 ? Call the function minandmax with the slice as parameter inside the function.

• Step 4 ? In the function minandmax set the first element of slice equals to min and also equals to max.

• Step 5 ? Run a loop till the length of the slice and check in the first case that is the number in slice is less than min value set the min value equal to the number.

• Step 6 ? In the next condition check if the number is greater than max value set the max value equal to the number. Repeat the process until the loop is terminated.

• Step 7 ? We obtain the min and max element which is returned to the function and printed using fmt.Println() function where ln refers to new line.

Example

Golang program to get maximum and minimum elements from slice using helper function

package main
import (
	"fmt"
)
func main() {
	var values []int   //creating slice

	values = append(values,10) //fill the elements in slice using append function
	values = append(values, 8)
	values = append(values, 20)
           values = append(values, 4)
           values = append(values, 56)

	fmt.Println("The slice containing the values is:", values)
	min, max := minandmax(values)
	fmt.Println("Minimum element in the slice is:", min) //print min element
	fmt.Println("Maximum element in the slice is:", max) //print max element
}
func minandmax(values []int) (int, int) {
	min := values[0]   //assign the first element equal to min
	max := values[0]  //assign the first element equal to max
	for _, number := range values {
		if number < min {
			min = number
		}
		if number > max {
			max = number
		}
	}
	return min, max
}

Output

The slice containing the values is: [10 8 20 4 56]
Minimum element in the slice is: 4
Maximum element in the slice is: 56

Method 2: Using the built-in Function Sort

In this method, we will see how to find the maximum and minimum element from the slice using built-in function sort. Let' see via algorithm and code how to execute this example.

Syntax

sort.Ints(slice)

The sort function in Golang is used to sort the elements in the slice. It is used to sort the strings, integer and float values. It sorts the values in ascending order with the slice as a parameter inside it.

Algorithm

• Step 1 ? Create a package main and declare fmt(format package) package in the program where main produces executable codes and fmt helps in formatting input and output.

• Step 2 ? Along with these packages import sort package in the program to find min and max element.

• Step 3 ? Create a function main and in that function create a slice with some values inside it.

• Step 4 ? Use sort function to sort the slice and after use of this function we will get minimum and maximum element.

• Step 5 ? Print the minimum and maximum element using fmt.Println() function where ln refers to new line.

Example

Golang program to get maximum and minimum elements from slice using the built-in function sort

package main
import (
	"fmt"
	"sort"
)

func main() {
	values := []int{10, 8, 43, 52, 98} // create slice
	fmt.Println("The values in slice are:", values)
	sort.Ints(values)  // sort the values finding min and max element
	fmt.Println("Minimum value in the slice is:", values[0]) //print min element
	fmt.Println("Maximum value in the slice is:", values[len(values)-1]) //print max element
}

Output

The values in slice are: [10 8 43 52 98]
Minimum value in the slice is: 8
Maximum value in the slice is: 98

Conclusion

We executed the program of finding the minimum and maximum element from the slice using two methods. In the first method, we used an external function to find the elements from the slice and in the second method; we used the sort function to print the maximum and minimum element