Java: Largest gap between sorted elements of an array

Last update on April 01 2025 10:45:48 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Write a Java program to calculate the largest gap between sorted elements of an array of integers.

Sample Data:
{1, 2 ,9, 0, 4, 6} -> 3
{23, -2, 45, 38, 12, 4, 6} -> 15

Pictorial Presentation:

Sample Solution:

Java Code:

// Import necessary Java classes.
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Arrays;

// Define the 'Main' class.
public class Main {
  // Define the main method for running the program.
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Initialize an array of numbers.
    //int[] nums = {1, 2 ,9, 0, 4, 6};
    int[] nums = {23, -2, 45, 38, 12, 4, 6};
    System.out.printf("\nOriginal array: " + Arrays.toString(nums));

    // Call the 'test' method to find the largest gap between sorted elements of the array.
    int result = test(nums);
    System.out.printf("\nLargest gap between sorted elements of the said array: " + result);
  }

  // Define the 'test' method to find the largest gap between sorted elements of the array.
  public static int test(int[] nums) {
    // Sort the 'nums' array in ascending order.
    Arrays.sort(nums);
    int max_val = 0;

    // Iterate through the sorted array and find the maximum gap between adjacent elements.
    for (int i = 0; i < nums.length - 1; i++) {
      max_val = Math.max(nums[i + 1] - nums[i], max_val);
    }
    return max_val;
  }
}

Sample Output:

Original array: [23, -2, 45, 38, 12, 4, 6]
Largest gap between sorted elements of the said array: 15

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a Java program to find the second-largest gap between sorted elements of an array.
• Write a Java program to find the smallest gap between sorted elements of an array.
• Write a Java program to find the average gap between sorted elements of an array.
• Write a Java program to find the element that contributes to the largest gap in a sorted array.

Java Code Editor:

Previous Java Exercise: Find all triplets equal to a sum in a unsorted array.
Next Java Exercise: Consecutive Numbers in an array.