findMinElement()

Step 1: Understand the Problem

The task at hand is to write a JavaScript function which finds the minimum element in an array. An array is a data structure that can hold multiple values in a single variable, each at a separate index starting from 0. To find the minimum element, you have to compare all of these values and identify the smallest one.

Step 2: Initialize the Minimum Value

Before we start comparing the values, we need to set an initial minimum value. A logical choice would be the first element of the array (index 0). This is our 'current minimum' which we will use for comparisons.

let min = arr[0];

Step 3: Loop through the Array

To compare the values, we have to go through every element of the array one by one. An efficient way to do this is with a 'for' loop. We start at index 1 because we already have the value at index 0 as our current minimum.

for(let i = 1; i < arr.length; i++) {
    // comparisons will go here
}

Step 4: Compare and Update the Minimum Value

Inside the loop, we compare the current array element (arr[i]) with our current minimum. If arr[i] is smaller, then we update min to be arr[i].

for(let i = 1; i < arr.length; i++) {
    if(arr[i] < min) {
        min = arr[i];
    }
}

Step 5: Return the Minimum Value

After the loop, the variable min will hold the smallest value from the array. We then return this value to complete our function.

function findMinElement(arr) {
    let min = arr[0];

    for(let i = 1; i < arr.length; i++) {
        if(arr[i] < min) {
            min = arr[i];
        }
    }

    return min;
}

The above function takes an array as input, compares all the values and returns the smallest one. The more elements in the array, the longer it will take to find the minimum value, but this function operates as efficiently as possible, performing a single pass through the array.