Question

Write a function, recursive_min, that returns the smallest value in a nested number list. Assume there are no empty lists or sublists: test(recursive_min([2, 9, [1, 13], 8, 6]) == 1)

test(recursive_min([2, [[100, 1], 90], [10, 13], 8, 6]) == 1)

test(recursive_min([2, [[13, -7], 90], [1, 100], 8, 6]) == -7)

test(recursive_min([[[-13, 7], 90], 2, [1, 100], 8, 6]) == -13)

Answer 1

The recursive_min function uses recursion to find the smallest value in a nested list by comparing each element and updating the minimum value accordingly until all elements have been processed.

Step-by-step explanation:

To write a function called recursive_min that returns the smallest value in a nested number list, we can use recursion which is a common technique in computer science for solving problems that can be broken down into smaller, similar subproblems. Below is one way to implement the recursive_min function in Python:

def recursive_min(nested_list):
min_val = None
for element in nested_list:
if isinstance(element, list):
val = recursive_min(element)
else:
val = element
if min_val is None or val < min_val:
min_val = val
return min_val

This function iterates over each element in the provided list. If an element is itself a list, the function calls itself with this sublist as the argument, hence the term 'recursive'. Otherwise, it compares the value of the element to the current minimum value and updates the minimum if necessary. After the full list (and all sublists) have been explored, the function returns the smallest value found.