Python: Compute the largest product of three integers from a given list of integers

Last update on December 21 2024 07:19:45 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Largest Product of Three Integers

Write a Python program to compute the largest product of three integers from a given list of integers.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Define a function to find the largest product of three elements in a list
def largest_product_of_three(nums):
    # Initialize the maximum value with the second element in the list
    max_val = nums[1]

    # Iterate through each element in the list to find the maximum product of three elements
    for i in range(len(nums)):
        for j in range(i+1, len(nums)):
            for k in range(j+1, len(nums)):
                # Update the maximum value if a larger product is found
                max_val = max(nums[i] * nums[j] * nums[k], max_val)
                
    # Return the maximum product of three elements
    return max_val
    
# Test the function with different lists of numbers
print(largest_product_of_three([-10, -20, 20, 1]))
print(largest_product_of_three([-1, -1, 4, 2, 1]))
print(largest_product_of_three([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]))

Sample Output:

4000
8
120

Explanation:

Here is a breakdown of the above Python code:

• The function "largest_product_of_three()" takes a list of numbers ('nums') as input.
• It initializes the maximum value ('max_val') with the second element in the list.
• It uses three nested loops to iterate through all possible combinations of three elements in the list.
• For each combination, it calculates the product of the three elements and updates the maximum value if a larger product is found.
• Finally, the function returns the maximum product of three elements.
• The function is tested with different lists of numbers.

Visual Presentation:

Flowchart:

Python Code Editor:

Have another way to solve this solution? Contribute your code (and comments) through Disqus.

Previous: Write a Python program to print a given N by M matrix of numbers line by line in forward > backwards > forward >... order.
Next: Write a Python program to find the first missing positive integer that does not exist in a given list.