LEAST

Syntax

Description of the illustration least.eps

Purpose

LEAST returns the least of a list of one or more expressions. Oracle Database uses the first expr to determine the return type. If the first expr is numeric, then Oracle determines the argument with the highest numeric precedence, implicitly converts the remaining arguments to that data type before the comparison, and returns that data type. If the first expr is not numeric, then each expr after the first is implicitly converted to the data type of the first expr before the comparison.

Oracle Database compares each expr using nonpadded comparison semantics. The comparison is binary by default and is linguistic if the NLS_COMP parameter is set to LINGUISTIC and the NLS_SORT parameter has a setting other than BINARY. Character comparison is based on the numerical codes of the characters in the database character set and is performed on whole strings treated as one sequence of bytes, rather than character by character. If the value returned by this function is character data, then its data type is VARCHAR2 if the first expr is a character data type and NVARCHAR2 if the first expr is a national character data type.

See Also:

"Data Type Comparison Rules" for more information on character comparison
Table 2-8 for more information on implicit conversion and "Floating-Point Numbers" for information on binary-float comparison semantics
"GREATEST", which returns the greatest of a list of one or more expressions
Appendix C in Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide for the collation determination rules, which define the collation LEAST uses to compare character values for expr, and for the collation derivation rules, which define the collation assigned to the return value of this function when it is a character value

Examples

The following statement selects the string with the least value:

SELECT LEAST('HARRY','HARRIOT','HAROLD') "Least"
  FROM DUAL;
 
Least 
------
HAROLD

In the following statement, the first argument is numeric. Oracle Database determines that the argument with the highest numeric precedence is the third argument, converts the remaining arguments to the data type of the third argument, and returns the least value as that data type:

SELECT LEAST (1, '2.1', '.000832') "Least"
  FROM DUAL;
 
Least
-------
.000832