LEAST

Syntax

least::=

Text description of least

Purpose

LEAST returns the least of the list of exprs. All exprs after the first are implicitly converted to the datatype of the first expr before the comparison. Oracle compares the exprs using nonpadded comparison semantics. If the value returned by this function is character data, then its datatype is always VARCHAR2.

Examples

The following statement is an example of using the LEAST function:

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