Question

Write a function that will take an array of names (each name is a string) and will return the smallest of the names (lexicographic order).

Answer 1

A function to find the smallest name in lexicographic order can be written by iterating through the array and comparing each name. The starting assumption is that the first name is the smallest, and as iteration proceeds, this is updated whenever a smaller name is found.

Step-by-step explanation:

To write a function that returns the smallest name in an array based on lexicographic order, we can create a simple function that iterates through the array, compares each name to find the one that would come first in a dictionary. This involves comparing strings to see which one is 'less' than the others according to standard string comparison rules in programming languages. Here's an example in JavaScript:

function findSmallestName(names) {
if (names.length === 0) return 'No names provided';
let smallest = names[0];
for (let i = 1; i < names.length; i++) {
if (names[i] < smallest) {
smallest = names[i];
}
}
return smallest;
}
This function starts with the assumption that the first name is the smallest, then iterates through the array, updating the smallest variable if it finds a name that should come before it in lexicographic order. The function then returns the name it determines to be smallest.