Question

Find the smallest value.

In this task you have been given code that asks the user to enter 3 whole numbers, and stores these in an array. Your task is to identify the smallest of the three values in the array. You should store the result in a variable called smallest, so that it can be printed out. Please note: You can (and should) solve this task without sorting the array or using the Arrays utility class.
import java.util.Scanner ;
public class Smallest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in) ;
int[] values = new int[3] ;
System.out.println("Please enter three whole numbers (one per line)");
values[0] = input.nextInt();
values[1] = input.nextInt();
values[2] = input.nextInt();
//Your code here
System.out.println("The smallest value is " + smallest) ;
}
}

Answer 1

To determine the smallest number in an array of three values, iterate through the array, starting with the first element as the initial smallest value. Compare and update the smallest variable as needed and print the result.

To find the smallest of three values stored in an array without sorting or using utility classes, you can use a simple algorithm. Start by assuming the first value is the smallest and save it to the variable smallest. Then, compare smallest to each of the other values in the array, updating smallest if a smaller value is found.

Here is how you can modify the code to achieve this:

int smallest = values[0]; if (values[1] < smallest) { smallest = values[1]; } if (values[2] < smallest) { smallest = values[2]; }

The smallest number is stored in the variable smallest and is output using System.out.println("The smallest value is " + smallest);