MySQL LEAST() Function

The MySQL LEAST() function returns the smallest value in a list of expressions. In special cases it returns the following:

• If any of the expression in the list is NULL, then NULL is returned.

Syntax

LEAST(expr1, expr2, ... expr_n)

Parameters

Return Value

Returns the smallest value in a list of expressions.

Example 1:

The example below shows the usage of LEAST() function.

mysql> SELECT LEAST(20, 30, 60, 10);
Result: 10

mysql> SELECT LEAST('20', '30', '60', '10');
Result: '10'

mysql> SELECT LEAST('D', 'G', 'X', 'A');
Result: 'A'

mysql> SELECT LEAST('Alpha', 'Beta', 'Delta', 'Gamma');
Result: 'Alpha'

mysql> SELECT LEAST('Alpha1', 'Alpha2', 'Alpha3', 'Alpha4');
Result: 'Alpha1'

mysql> SELECT LEAST(20, 30, 60, 10, NULL);
Result: NULL

Example 2:

Consider a database table called Sample with the following records:

To get the smallest value, when values of column x, column y and column z are compared, the following query can be used:

SELECT *, LEAST(x, y, z) AS LEAST_Value FROM Sample;

This will produce the result as shown below: