Finding three elements in an array whose sum is closest to an given number

gistfile1.txt

for (i in 1..n-2) {
  j = i+1  // Start right after i.
  k = n    // Start at the end of the array.

  while (k >= j) {
    // We got a match! All done.
    if (A[i] + A[j] + A[k] == 0) return (A[i], A[j], A[k])

    // We didn't match. Let's try to get a little closer:
    //   If the sum was too big, decrement k.
    //   If the sum was too small, increment j.
    (A[i] + A[j] + A[k] > 0) ? k-- : j++
  }
  // When the while-loop finishes, j and k have passed each other and there's
  // no more useful combinations that we can try with this i.
}