Find minimum and maximum of an array using minimum number of comparisons

Given an array of numbers, find the minimum and the maximum element of the array using the minimum number of comparisons.

Hint

Set the smallest number (min) to the largest possible value (infinity). Set the largest number (max) to the smallest possible value (negative infinity). Go through each number in the list.

Update min: If the current number is smaller than the current min, replace min with the current number.
Update max: If the current number is larger than the current max, replace max with the current number.

Return: After checking all numbers in the list, return the values of min and max.

Python
Javascript

# Python implementation

ls = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

mn = float('inf')
mx = float('-inf')

for item in ls:
  mn = min(mn, item)
  mx = max(mx, item)

print((mn, mx))

// Javascript implementation

const list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9];

let min = Infinity;
let max = -Infinity;

for (let item of list) {
  min = Math.min(min, item);
  max = Math.max(max, item);
}

console.log({ min: min, max: max });