def minimax(L):
    # returns both the minimum and the maximum of list L
    min = L[0]
    max = L[0]
    for x in L:
        if x < min:
            min = x
        elif x > max:
            max = x
    return min, max


def main():
    list = [2, 9, 12, 4, 3, 2, 4, 8, 10, 5]
    m, M = minimax(list)

    print "The minimum is %d and the maximum is %d" % (m, M)

main()