The LEAST function in Oracle SQL / PLSQL is used to get the least or smallest value out of the expressions provided
The Syntax for the LEAST function in Oracle SQL / PLSQL is:
SELECT LEAST(expression1, expression2, expression3. . . ., expressionN)
FROM table_name;
Expression1, expression2, expression3 … expressionN are expressions evaluated by the least function.
- If the data types of the expressions are different then all the expressions are converted to expression1 data type.
- In character based comparison one character is considered lower or smaller than another if it has a lower character set.
- If an expression is NULL in the LEAST function then NULL will be returned as least value.
Example 1:
SELECT LEAST(3,6,12,3) FROM DUAL;
Will return “3”
Example 2:
SELECT LEAST('3','6','12','3')
FROM DUAL;
Will return “12”
Example 3:
SELECT LEAST('apples', 'grapes', 'bananas')
FROM DUAL;
Will return “apples”