MySQL LEAST() Function

In MySQL, the LEAST() function returns the smallest value in the parameter list. If you want to find the largest value in a list, use the GREATEST() function.

LEAST() Syntax

Here is the syntax of MySQL LEAST() function:

LEAST(param1, param2, ..., paramN)

Parameters

param1, param2, ..., paramN

Required. Argument list for comparison. They can be any data type, or expressions.

Return value

In MySQL, the LEAST() function returns the smallest value in the parameter list.

If any of the parameters is NULL, the function will return NULL.

LEAST() Examples

SELECT
    LEAST(2, 1, 5),
    LEAST(2, 1, 5, '0'),
    LEAST('a', 'b', 'c'),
    LEAST('Hello', 'World'),
    LEAST('a', 'b', NULL)\G

output

*************************** 1\. row ***************************
         LEAST(2, 1, 5): 1
    LEAST(2, 1, 5, '0'): 0
   LEAST('a', 'b', 'c'): a
LEAST('Hello', 'World'): Hello
  LEAST('a', 'b', NULL): NULL

See STRCMP() function for more details of comparison between strings.