via:john resig http://ejohn.org/blog/fast-javascript-maxmin/
I've been saving this technique for a while now - it's simple, but it's good. What's the fastest way to find the largest, or smallest, number in an array?
There's a bunch of implementations floating around - including some nicely object-oriented approaches in Prototype. However, none of them can compare to the raw simplicity of this:
return Math.max.apply( Math, array );
};
Array.min = function( array ){
return Math.min.apply( Math, array );
};
The premise behind this technique is simple (and obvious once you see it): Just find any built-in JavaScript function that takes unlimited arguments - it'll now be just as easy to adapt it for Array-wide use. By using JavaScript's .apply() method on a built-in function you can pass in an array of unlimited arguments.
After "discovering" this for myself I found out that it's mentioned in the "Rhino" book, which made me feel stupid. Oh well, it's a great trick and its one that more people should know.