Recursive algorithm to find maximum

Question

Hi there,
I am looking for a recursive algorithm for finding the maximum and minimum values in a double array.
I did find the code from this forum. It works upto the size of array=200 fine.. it however just waits and waits for larger size of the array.
The code I am using is:
public double maxRecursive(double [] array){
if (array.length==1){
     return array[0];
double [] next=new double[array.length-1];
System.arraycopy(array,1,next,0,array.length-1);
return Math.max(array[0],maxRecursive(next));
Could anyone help me with a better algorithm? I feel the above code is a overhaul with arraycopy as well as the recursive calls.
Thanks for all your help!
JP

Answer 1

try this exact code, and see the output (System.out.prints). That will explain you the logic.
public double maxRecursive(double [] array, int pos) {
     if (array.length - 1==pos) {
          System.out.println("So, I read all the elements, Final Value is :"+array[pos]+"\n");
          return array[pos];
     double recMax = maxRecursive(array, pos+1);
     System.out.println("Now I am at "+pos+" Position !!!\n");
     System.out.println("Till now my maximum value is : "+recMax+"\n");
     if(array[pos] > recMax) {
          System.out.println("My previous element is "+array[pos]+" since it is greater than my max value, here onwards, this will be my max value\n");
          return array[pos];
     else {
          System.out.println("My Previous element is "+array[pos]+" since it is less than my max value, my max value will not change\n");
          return recMax;
}Sudha