Recap: Function Pointer Args

Part of the Logic & Flow section of Coddy's C journey — lesson 30 of 63.

Challenge

Easy

Write a C program that implements a function to find both the minimum and maximum values in an array using pointer arguments. Your program should:

Create a function named findMinMax that takes four parameters:
- An integer array
- The size of the array
- A pointer to an integer for storing the minimum value
- A pointer to an integer for storing the maximum value
Inside the findMinMax function, iterate through the array to find the minimum and maximum values
Use the dereference operator to store the minimum value at the address pointed to by the min pointer
Use the dereference operator to store the maximum value at the address pointed to by the max pointer
In the main function, read an integer n representing the number of elements in the array
Read n integer values and store them in an array
Declare two integer variables minValue and maxValue to store the results
Call the findMinMax function, passing the array, its size, and the addresses of minValue and maxValue
Print the results in the format: Minimum: [value] and Maximum: [value]

For example, if the input is:

5
12 7 23 4 18

Your output should be:

Minimum: 4
Maximum: 23

This challenge demonstrates the powerful technique of using multiple pointer arguments to return multiple values from a single function call, allowing the function to modify variables in the calling function's scope.

Try it yourself

#include <stdio.h>

// TODO: Write your findMinMax function here

int main() {
    int n;
    scanf("%d", &n);
    
    int arr[n];
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
        scanf("%d", &arr[i]);
    }
    
    int minValue, maxValue;
    
    // TODO: Call the findMinMax function here
    
    printf("Minimum: %d\n", minValue);
    printf("Maximum: %d\n", maxValue);
    
    return 0;
}

All lessons in Logic & Flow

2Pointers and Arrays

Array Names as Pointers Array Elements - Pointers Pointer Arithmetic Comparing Pointers Recap: Pointer Array Traversal

5Pointers and Functions

Pass-by-Value Passing Pointers to Functions Modifying Vars via Pointers A Classic Example: Swap Passing Arrays to FunctionsRecap: Function Pointer Args

8Structs and Pointers

Pointers to Structs The Arrow Operator (->)Passing Structs by Value Passing Struct Pointers Dynamic Allocation of Structs Recap: Modifying Struct - Ptr

11Final Recap Challenges

Recap: Dynamic String Concat Recap: Array of Structs Recap: Word Frequency Counter