Master Minimize Maximum Difference in an Array in C# by 3 Easy Steps

In intermediate-level interviews, candidates are frequently challenged with the task of reducing the disparity between the largest and smallest values in an array. You may come across questions asking you to 'minimise the max-min difference,' 'reduce array difference,' or 'achieve optimal array transformation' in C#. Regardless of how the problem is phrased, the central concept remains unchanged: making strategic moves to minimise the gap between the highest and lowest values in an array.

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Understanding the Problem

As the title suggests, the interviewer will present an array and ask you to perform a series of moves to reduce the difference between the largest and smallest values in the array. Occasionally, they might permit up to three moves to change any element to any value in the array by using the Minimize Maximum Difference technique. The objective is to achieve the smallest possible difference.

For example, consider the array nums = [1, 5, 0, 10, 14]. With three moves, you can alter the values to minimise the maximum difference. This task can initially seem challenging, but we will break it down step by step. In the next section, I will provide a real-world example of minimising the maximum difference in an array.

Follow Original page for real-world example with Logical Approach to Minimize Maximum Difference in Array

C# Program to Minimize Maximum Difference in Three Moves

using System;
using System.Linq;

//program by interviewspreparation.com

public class MinimizeDifference
{
    public static int MinDifference(int[] nums)
    {
        if (nums.Length <= 4) return 0;

        Array.Sort(nums);
        return Math.Min(nums[nums.Length - 4] - nums[0],
                        Math.Min(nums[nums.Length - 3] - nums[1],
                        Math.Min(nums[nums.Length - 2] - nums[2],
                                 nums[nums.Length - 1] - nums[3])));
    }
}

In summary, minimizing the difference between the largest and smallest values in an array after three moves involves:

1. Sorting the array.
2. Calculating the differences for each of the four possible scenarios.
3. Selecting the minimum difference from these scenarios.

By following these steps, you can effectively reduce the difference in an array using C#.