MySQL in a Nutshell

Name

GREATEST( )

Synopsis

GREATEST(value, value,  . . . )

Use this function to compare two or more values and return the greatest value. In an INTEGER datatype context, all values are treated as integers for comparison. In a REAL datatype context, all values are treated as REAL values for comparison. If any parameter contains a case-sensitive string (i.e., with a BINARY flag), all values are compared as case-sensitive strings.

SELECT GREATEST(col1, col2, col3);