C Exercises: The smallest absolute difference between X and 2 integers

Last update on March 19 2025 12:33:07 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

7. Minimum Difference with a Range

Write a C program that accepts three integers: A, B, and X. Find the smallest absolute value of the difference between X and the integers between A and B.

Sample Date:

Input A, B: 7, 11
C: 20
Smallest absolute value of difference between X and integers between A and B (inclusive): 11
Input A, B: 1, 5
C: 4
Smallest absolute value of difference between X and integers between A and B (inclusive): 4

C Code:

#include <stdio.h> // Include standard input/output library

int main()
{
int A, B, X; // Declare variables for input values A, B, and X

    // Prompt the user for input value A
printf("Input A: ");

    // Read the input and store it in 'A'
scanf("%d", &A);

    // Prompt the user for input value B
printf("Input B: ");

    // Read the input and store it in 'B'
scanf("%d", &B);

    // Prompt the user for input value X
printf("\nInput X: ");

    // Read the input and store it in 'X'
scanf("%d", &X);

    // Print a message indicating the operation being performed
printf("Smallest absolute value of difference between X and integers between A and B (inclusive):\n");

    // Check conditions and print the result accordingly
if (X < A)
    {
printf("%d\n", A); // Print A if X is less than A
    }
else if (X > B)
    {
printf("%d\n", B); // Print B if X is greater than B
    }
else
    {
printf("%d\n", X); // Print X if it falls between A and B
    }

return 0; // Return 0 to indicate successful program execution
}

Output:

Input A: 7
Input B: 11

Input X: 20
Smallest absolute value of difference between X and integers between A and B (in
clusive):
11

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a C program to iterate through all integers between A and B and output the one that minimizes the absolute difference with X.
• Write a C program to compute the smallest absolute difference between X and each integer in the range [A, B] and then print that difference.
• Write a C program to use a loop to determine which integer in the range [A, B] is closest to X and display the corresponding absolute difference.
• Write a C program to calculate the minimum absolute difference between X and a sequence of numbers from A to B, and then output both the number and the difference.

C Programming Code Editor:

Previous C Programming Exercise: Length of longest ascending contiguous subsequence.