I came across a problem which I did manage to solve but I honestly do not understand how this works.

var array = [3, 6, 2, 56, 32, 5, 89, 32];

var largest = 0;

//My code

for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {

    if (array[i] > largest) {

        largest = array[i];

    }

}



console.log(largest);

How does my array assign a value to my variable within the if statement?

Why does this version not work?

array[i] = largest;

I'm very new to programming and I believe that understanding fundamental things as small as this can help many beginners become competent programmers.