Oracle LEAST function.

Preamble

Oracle/PLSQL LEAST function returns the smallest value in the expression list.

Oracle/PLSQL syntax of the LEAST function

LEAST( expr1_id, expr2_id, ... expr_n_id )

Parameters and function arguments

• expr1_id, expr2_id, … expr_n_id – expressions whose smallest value is defined by the LEAST function.

1. The LEAST function returns the same data type as expr1.
2. Having a value of NULL in one of the expressions will return NULL as the smallest value.
3. If the types of these expressions are different, all expressions will be converted to any expr1 data type.
4. If the comparison is based on character comparison, one character is considered smaller than the other if it has a lower character set value.

The LEAST function can be used in the following versions of Oracle/PLSQL

Let us consider some examples of the LEAST function and learn how to use the LEAST function in Oracle/PLSQL.

SELECT LEAST(2, 5, 12, 3) FROM DUAL;

--Result: 2

SELECT LEAST('2', '5', '12', '3') FROM DUAL;

--Result: 12

SELECT LEAST('apples', 'oranges', 'bananas') FROM DUAL;

--Result: apples

SELECT LEAST('apples', 'applis', 'applas') FROM DUAL;

--Result: applas

SELECT LEAST('apples', 'applis', 'applas', null) FROM DUAL;

--Result: NULL

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