Algorithm for finding the maximum difference in an array of numbers

Question

I have an array of a few million numbers.

double* const data = new double (3600000);

I need to iterate through the array and find the range (th

Answer 1

The algorithm you describe is really O(N), but i think the constant is too high. Another solution which looks reasonable is to use O(N*log(N)) algorithm the following way:

* create sorted container (std::multiset) of first 1000 numbers
* in loop (j=1, j<(3600000-1000); ++j)
   - calculate range
   - remove from the set number which is now irrelevant (i.e. in index *j - 1* of the array)
   - add to set new relevant number  (i.e. in index *j+1000-1* of the array)

I believe it should be faster, because the constant is much lower.