C Exercises: Find the minimum distance between two numbers in a given array
C Array: Exercise-84 with Solution
Write a program in C to find the minimum distance between two numbers in a given array.
Sample Solution:
C Code:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <limits.h>
// Function to find the minimum distance between two given numbers in an array
int findMinDistance(int *input, int n1, int n2, int length) {
int pos_one = INT_MAX; // Initialize position of first number as maximum possible integer
int pos_two = INT_MAX; // Initialize position of second number as maximum possible integer
int d = length + 1; // Initialize minimum distance as length+1
int newD;
// Iterate through the array
for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
if (input[i] == n1) // If element is the first number
pos_one = i; // Store its position
else if (input[i] == n2) // If element is the second number
pos_two = i; // Store its position
// If both numbers are found
if (pos_one < length && pos_two < length) {
newD = abs(pos_one - pos_two); // Calculate distance between positions
if (d > newD) // Update minimum distance
d = newD;
}
}
return d == length + 1 ? -1 : d; // Return minimum distance or -1 if no such pair found
}
int main() {
int arr1[] = {7, 9, 5, 11, 7, 4, 12, 6, 2, 11};
int n = sizeof(arr1) / sizeof(arr1[0]); // Calculate array size
int p = 7; // First number
int q = 11; // Second number
int i;
// Printing the original array
printf("The given array is: \n");
for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
printf("%d ", arr1[i]);
}
printf("\n");
// Calculate and print the minimum distance between the given numbers
printf("The minimum distance between %d and %d is: %d\n", p, q, findMinDistance(arr1, p, q, n));
return 0;
}
Sample Output:
The given array is: 7 9 5 11 7 4 12 6 2 11 The minimum distance between 7 and 11 is: 1
Visual Presentation:
Flowchart:

C Programming Code Editor:
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