Coding Challenge

Give this code a try and observe the results. Your task is to determine the correct output when the function processes the given array. The function should return the second largest distinct number.

Task

Implement a function that returns the second largest distinct value in an array of numbers. Then run the provided code and choose the correct console output for the given input array.

Formula

Let S be the set of distinct numbers in the array. If |S| ≥ 2, then secondLargest = max(S \ {max(S)}); otherwise, return null.

Example Code


function secondLargest(nums) {
  if (!Array.isArray(nums) || nums.length === 0) return null;

  let max = -Infinity;
  let second = -Infinity;

  for (const n of nums) {
    if (n > max) {
      second = max;
      max = n;
    } else if (n < max && n > second) {
      second = n;
    }
  }

  return second === -Infinity ? null : second;
}

const arr = [7, 7, 3, 9, 11, 11, 5];
console.log(secondLargest(arr));

Question

What will be logged to the console for the input array [7, 7, 3, 9, 11, 11, 5]?

Options

11
9
7
null

Hint: Consider how duplicates affect the maximum and how the code updates the second value when a new maximum is found.