[Programming] Question 4: Find the smallest element in an array in C?

Explore how to write a C program to find the smallest element in an array. This guide provides a detailed explanation on initializing an array, iterating through its elements, and identifying the smallest value. Perfect for beginners looking to understand array operations and basic programming techniques in C.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
	int arr[] = {10, 20, 5, 40, 50};
	int min = arr[0];
	int i;

	for (i = 1; i < sizeof(arr)/sizeof(arr[0]); i++) {
		if (arr[i] < min)
			min = arr[i];
	}

	printf("Smallest element in array: %d\n", min);

	return 0;
} 

Explanation: 

Inside the main() function:

- An integer array arr is declared and initialized with values.

- An integer variable min is initialized to the first element of the array.

- A for loop is used to iterate through each element of the array, starting from the second element.

- Within the loop, if the current element is smaller than the current minimum, update min to the current element.

- Finally, the smallest element in the array is printed to the console.