C Exercises: Find the minimum distance between two numbers in a given array

Last update on March 18 2025 13:23:19 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

84. Minimum Distance Between Two Numbers

Write a program in C to find the minimum distance between two numbers in a given array.

Expected Output:
The given array is:
7 9 5 11 7 4 12 6 2 11
The minimum distance between 7 and 11 is: 1

The problem involves writing a C program to determine the minimum distance between two specified numbers in a given array. The program should iterate through the array to locate the positions of the two numbers and calculate the smallest difference between their indices. The expected output will display the array and the minimum distance between the two specified numbers.

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;
}

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:/p>

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a C program to compute the minimum distance between two specified numbers in an array using linear search.
• Write a C program to find the minimum distance between two numbers using two-pointer technique after sorting.
• Write a C program to calculate the minimum distance between two given numbers and then output the indices of the closest pair.
• Write a C program to find the minimum gap between occurrences of two numbers using recursion.

C Programming Code Editor:

Click to Open Editor

Previous: Write a program in C to find a pair with the given difference.
Next: Write a program in C to Count all possible paths from top left to bottom right of a m X n matrix.