/** * Finds extremal elements in an array * * @author Prof. David Bernstein, James Madison University * @version 1.0 */ public class Extreminator { /** * Find the infimum * * @param values The array of values to search */ public int findInf(int[] values) { int inf; inf = findInf(values, 0, Integer.MAX_VALUE); return inf; } /** * The recursive function that does all of the work * involved in finding an infimum * * @param values The array of values to search * @param startIndex The index to begin ths search * @param soFar The best value found so far */ private int findInf(int[] values, int startIndex, int soFar) { if (startIndex >= values.length) { // The base case -- don't change soFar } else { // Refinement -- start at the next index if (values[startIndex] < soFar) { soFar = values[startIndex]; } soFar = findInf(values, startIndex+1, soFar); } return soFar; } }
