Finding a minimum value in an array without using loops

Question

I can find a minimum value in an array using a loop, but I am unsure of how to do it without any type of of loop
Here is what I have using a loop:
// This method searches for the minimum value in an array
public static int min(int a[]){
int min = a[0];
for(int i = 1; i < a.length; i++){
if(a[i] < min){
min = a;
return min;
How do I covert this to do the same thing, using no loops?
Thank you for replies
Edited by: kazmania on Feb 7, 2008 12:26 PM

Answer 1

public class Test112 {
public int recurse(int[] x, int i, int n)
if (i==x.length-1) { return (x[i] < n) ? x[i] : n; }
n = (n < x[++i]) ? n : x;
return recurse(x, i, n);
public static void main(String[] args) {
int[] nums = {3, 1, 56, 2, 99, 34, 5, 78, -400, 2383, 201, -9, -450};
Test112 t = new Test112();
int min = t.recurse(nums, 0, nums[0]);
System.out.println(min);