Finding smallest value in an array most efficiently

Question

There are N values in the array, and one of them is the smallest value. How can I find the smallest value most efficiently?

Answer 1

The stl contains a bunch of methods that should be used dependent to the problem.

std::find
std::find_if
std::count
std::find
std::binary_search
std::equal_range
std::lower_bound
std::upper_bound

Now it contains on your data what algorithm to use. This Artikel contains a perfect table to help choosing the right algorithm.

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In the special case where min max should be determined and you are using std::vector or ???* array

std::min_element
std::max_element

can be used.