Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 21 Days, Second Edition

GREATEST(x1,x2[,...])

Description: Returns the greatest of a list of at least two values.

The rules for comparison are as follows:

• If all arguments are integers or function is used in an integer context, arguments are compared as integers.

• If all arguments are floating-point or function is used in a floating-point context, arguments are compared as floating-point values.

• If any argument is a case-sensitive (binary) string, the arguments are compared as strings in a case-sensitive way; otherwise, the arguments are compared as strings in a way that is not case-sensitive.

Examples:

• GREATEST(32,1) returns 32.

• GREATEST(32,1)+0.00 returns 32.00.

• GREATEST(-32,-1) returns -1.

• GREATEST(BINARY "x","Y") returns x.

• GREATEST("x","Y") returns Y.

See also: LEAST() ...