findMaxElement()

Step 1: Understand the Problem

Before we begin coding, it’s essential first to understand what the problem is asking. In this case, we need to write a function that can find the maximum element in an array of numbers in JavaScript. This is a common task in programming interviews and can be solved using different methods. For this explanation, we will use a simple approach to iterate over the array and find the maximum number.

javascript
// the function signature
// we will pass in an array of numbers
function findMaxElement(array) {

}

Step 2: Initialize Variables

Within our function, we can start by initializing a variable to store the maximum number found so far. Since we're looking for the maximum number, a good starting point can be the smallest possible number in JavaScript. For this, we can use the Number.MIN_VALUE property.

javascript
function findMaxElement(array) {
    var maxElement = Number.MIN_VALUE;
}

Step 3: Iterate Through the Array

To find the maximum number, we need to check each element in the array. We do this by setting up a for loop that iterates over each element in the array.

javascript
function findMaxElement(array) {
    var maxElement = Number.MIN_VALUE;

    for(var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
        // We will add code here in the next step
    }
}

Step 4: Compare and Update

Inside our loop, we can add a condition to check if the current array element is higher than our maxElement. If it is, then we update maxElement to hold the current array element's value. This way, maxElement will always hold the highest number found so far.

javascript
function findMaxElement(array) {
    var maxElement = Number.MIN_VALUE;

    for(var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
        if(array[i] > maxElement) {
            maxElement = array[i];
        }
    }
}

Step 5: Return the Maximum Element

Finally, after the loop has finished running, maxElement should hold the value of the highest number in the array. We can simply return this value from our function.

javascript
function findMaxElement(array) {
    var maxElement = Number.MIN_VALUE;

    for(var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
        if(array[i] > maxElement) {
            maxElement = array[i];
        }
    }

    return maxElement;
}

This completes our findMaxElement function. You can now pass an array of numbers to this function, and it will return the highest number within the array.