added max and min algo

data_structures/arrays/max_and_min.py

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+"""
+Find the maximum and minimum elements in a list.
+Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_and_minimum
+
+>>> find_max_min([4, 2, 9, 1, 7])
+(9, 1)
+>>> find_max_min([-5, -10, 0, 5])
+(5, -10)
+>>> find_max_min([42])
+(42, 42)
+>>> find_max_min([])
+"""
+
+def find_max_min(arr):
+    """
+    Returns the maximum and minimum elements of a list.
+
+    Parameters:
+    arr (list): The list of numbers.
+
+    Returns:
+    tuple: (maximum, minimum)
+
+    Raises:
+    ValueError: If the list is empty.
+    """
+
+    if not arr:
+        raise ValueError("find_max_min() arg is an empty list")
+
+    maximum = max(arr)
+    minimum = min(arr)
+    return maximum, minimum
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    examples = [
+        [4, 2, 9, 1, 7],
+        [-5, -10, 0, 5],
+        [42],
+    ]
+
+    for arr in examples:
+        max_val, min_val = find_max_min(arr)
+        print(f"For list {arr}, maximum: {max_val}, minimum: {min_val}")