1 
#!/bin/bash -x

i=1

while [ "$i" -le 10 ]; do
 number[$i]=$((RANDOM%1000+100))
    ((i += 1))
done

echo "${number[@]}"
largest=${number[0]}
smallest=${number[0]}
for j in "${number[@]}"
    do
        if [[ "$j" -lt "$smallest" ]]; then
        smallest="$j"
        fi
        if [[ "$j" -gt "$largest" ]]; then
        largest="$j"
        fi
        
done
echo "largest element is: $largest"
echo "smallest element is: $smallest"

In this program output i get first smallest and largest element but i want second element

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5
  • i'm stuck in to get second element actually i'm new in this i got first element without sorting but what is logic to get second one Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 18:25
  • @MarcusMüller: The question is pretty clear to me. Also interesting if possible. Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 18:34
  • please suggest me how to get without sorting the array Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 18:40
  • 1
    What is the second largest of these numbers: 42 905 60 83 905 107? Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 5:10
  • @SurajSingh you may find that sorting the array with a specialised tool such as sort rather than iterating with a for do ... done shell loop is the faster and more efficient way to get the result. It depends of course on the size of your array. Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 10:47

1 Answer 1

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2

I didn't actually test your script but it should theoretically find the largest and smallest. However not the 2nd largest and 2nd smallest as you need.

Also your random number generator is slightly flawed. It has the possibility of generating a number all the way up to 1099 which is not three digit.

Here is my stab at your task though:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

for ((i=0;i<10;i++)); do
    numbers+=($(((RANDOM%900)+100)))
done

largest=0
oldlargest=0
smallest=1000
oldsmallest=1000

for n in "${numbers[@]}"; do
    if [[ $n -gt $largest ]]; then
        oldlargest=$largest
        largest=$n
    elif [[ $n -gt $oldlargest && $n -lt $largest ]]; then
        oldlargest=$n
    fi
    if [[ $n -lt $smallest ]]; then
        oldsmallest=$smallest
        smallest=$n
    elif [[ $n -lt $oldsmallest && $n -gt $smallest ]]; then
        oldsmallest=$n
    fi
done


printf 'Second largest is: %d\nSecond smallest is: %d\n' "$oldlargest" "$oldsmallest"

I'm sure someone could probably figure out a more elegant way to do it but this will keep track of both the largest and smallest numbers so far, and the second largest and smallest numbers so far. Leaving us with both values at the end.

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2
  • 1
    but i want without sorting array Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 18:20
  • @SurajSingh the array numbers is still unsorted in the answer above. Or are you asking how to do this without looping through the array? (That is a different question to what was originally asked). "sorting" would be modifying array state so that the object in memory contains the values in a certain order. You could print the array with echo "${numbers[@]}" to confirm this has not happened. Also, this script (and the one in the original post) could be modified to use a single loop, which would improve processing speed. Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 4:30

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