Question

Quick question, which is more efficient for finding the smallest number (float) in a long list (10000+ elements)

is it

min(mylist)

or

mylist.sort() 

and then returning

mylist[0]

or something else…

thanks!

Answer 1

If the list is already populated, min() is the most efficient way.

There are some tricks you might use in special scenarios:

• If you build the list from scratch, simply keep the smallest item yet in an external variable, so that the answer will be given in O(1).
• If there are only Floats in the list, use an Array which gives better performance.
• You can keep the list sorted using bisect.
• Use a Python Heap, which even has an efficient implementation of min(). Make sure you understand the effects, mainly a slower insertion. (credit: interjay)