Find closest greater and smaller number from a sorted array

Question

I have a sorted array. It can be empty. I have to find its closest greater and smaller number. If the given number is present in the array, it will be considered as greater number. I implemented it like the below style. But I am not satisfied with my approach. Can anyone suggest better ways?

findPreviousNext(array:number[], currentValue: number): ClosestValues
{
 let immediateNextIndex = -1;
 var closestvalues = new ClosestValues();
 for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
 if (array[i] >= currentValue) {
 immediateNextIndex = i;
 break;
 }
 }
 switch (immediateNextIndex) {
 case 0: {
 closestvalues.immediateNext = array[immediateNextIndex];
 closestvalues.immediatePrevious = null;
 break;
 }
 case -1: {
 var prevVal = array[array.length -1];
 closestvalues.immediateNext = null;
 closestvalues.immediatePrevious = (prevVal != null && prevVal != undefined) ? prevVal : null;
 break;
 }
 default: {
 let prevVal = array[immediateNextIndex - 1];
 closestvalues.immediateNext = array[immediateNextIndex];
 closestvalues.immediatePrevious = (prevVal != null && prevVal != undefined) ? prevVal : null;
 }
}
return closestvalues;
}

• AJNeufeld: The array is sorted; how about a binary search?
• Caperneoignis: Why not move the switch statement into it's own function and have it in the if condition. Or change the for loop to a while loop, drop the break in the if condtion and have the return from closestvalues break the while loop? is this supposed to go through the loop all the way.
• 200_success: @AJNeufeld Please put all suggestions for improvements in answers.
• 200_success: @Caperneoignis Please put all suggestions for improvements in answers.
• greybeard: If possible, state the area where you're dissatisfied with your code: embedded documentation, readability, resource usage?

Answer 1

First of all, comments would be nice. Speaking in terms of implementation rarely helps another person understand what the code is doing. Especially when the code uses very generic variable names. My general rule to comments is when the code tries to do something clever, write a comment.

You could short-circuit the logic if the array is empty. No sense having the code run if you know ahead of time it does nothing.

Also, by eliminating cases early, you can start making assumptions. This would allow you to simplify logic or make optimizations to existing logic, turning general-case logic to case-specific logic.

for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
 if (array[i] >= currentValue) {
 immediateNextIndex = i;
 break;
 }
}

Could be simplified using array.findIndex.

Here's my take on it:

const findPreviousNext = (array, currentValue) => {
 // Short-circuit the code if the array is empty.
 if(array.length === 0){
 return { next: null, prev: null }
 }
 // Find the index of the closest greater number.
 const closestIndex = array.findIndex(v => v >= currentValue)
 // A non-existent/negative index is undefined. No need for extensive checks.
 const closestNext = array[closestIndex] || null
 const closestPrev = array[closestIndex - 1] || null
 const lastValue = array[array.length - 1] || null
 // The only special case is the non-existent value (index = -1)
 const next = closestIndex === -1 ? null : closestNext
 const prev = closestIndex === -1 ? lastValue : closestPrev
 // Build the instance (a simple POJO in this case).
 return { next, prev }
}
console.log(findPreviousNext([], 3))
console.log(findPreviousNext([1], 3))
console.log(findPreviousNext([1, 2], 3))
console.log(findPreviousNext([1, 2, 3], 3))
console.log(findPreviousNext([1, 2, 3, 4], 3))