Getting the minimum of two values in SQL - tsql

Question

I have two variables, one is called PaidThisMonth, and the other is called OwedPast. They are both results of some subqueries in SQL. How can I select the smaller of the two and return it as a value titled PaidForPast?
The MIN function works on columns, not variables.

Answer 1

SQL Server 2012 and 2014 supports IIF(cont,true,false) function. Thus for minimal selection you can use it like
SELECT IIF(first>second, second, first) the_minimal FROM table
While IIF is just a shorthand for writing CASE...WHEN...ELSE, it's easier to write.

Answer 2

The solutions using CASE, IIF, and UDF are adequate, but impractical when extending the problem to the general case using more than 2 comparison values. The generalized
solution in SQL Server 2008+ utilizes a strange application of the VALUES clause:
SELECT
PaidForPast=(SELECT MIN(x) FROM (VALUES (PaidThisMonth),(OwedPast)) AS value(x))
Credit due to this website:
http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/archive/2012/01/20/use-values-clause-to-get-the-maximum-value-from-some-columns-sql-server-t-sql.aspx

Answer 3

Use Case:
Select Case When #PaidThisMonth < #OwedPast
Then #PaidThisMonth Else #OwedPast End PaidForPast
As Inline table valued UDF
CREATE FUNCTION Minimum
(#Param1 Integer, #Param2 Integer)
Returns Table As
Return(Select Case When #Param1 < #Param2
Then #Param1 Else #Param2 End MinValue)
Usage:
Select MinValue as PaidforPast
From dbo.Minimum(#PaidThisMonth, #OwedPast)
ADDENDUM:
This is probably best for when addressing only two possible values, if there are more than two, consider Craig's answer using Values clause.

Answer 4

For SQL Server 2022+ (or MySQL or PostgreSQL 9.3+), a better way is to use the LEAST and GREATEST functions.
SELECT GREATEST(A.date0, B.date0) AS date0,
LEAST(A.date1, B.date1, B.date2) AS date1
FROM A, B
WHERE B.x = A.x
With:
GREATEST(value [, ...]) : Returns the largest (maximum-valued) argument from values provided
LEAST(value [, ...]) Returns the smallest (minimum-valued) argument from values provided
Documentation links :
MySQL http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/comparison-operators.html
Postgres https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-conditional.html
SQL Server https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/functions/logical-functions-least-transact-sql

Answer 5

I just had a situation where I had to find the max of 4 complex selects within an update.
With this approach you can have as many as you like!
You can also replace the numbers with aditional selects
select max(x)
from (
select 1 as 'x' union
select 4 as 'x' union
select 3 as 'x' union
select 2 as 'x'
) a
More complex usage
#answer = select Max(x)
from (
select #NumberA as 'x' union
select #NumberB as 'x' union
select #NumberC as 'x' union
select (
Select Max(score) from TopScores
) as 'x'
) a
I'm sure a UDF has better performance.

Answer 6

Here is a trick if you want to calculate maximum(field, 0):
SELECT (ABS(field) + field)/2 FROM Table
returns 0 if field is negative, else, return field.

Answer 7

Use a CASE statement.
Example B in this page should be close to what you're trying to do:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181765.aspx
Here's the code from the page:
USE AdventureWorks;
GO
SELECT ProductNumber, Name, 'Price Range' =
CASE
WHEN ListPrice = 0 THEN 'Mfg item - not for resale'
WHEN ListPrice < 50 THEN 'Under $50'
WHEN ListPrice >= 50 and ListPrice < 250 THEN 'Under $250'
WHEN ListPrice >= 250 and ListPrice < 1000 THEN 'Under $1000'
ELSE 'Over $1000'
END
FROM Production.Product
ORDER BY ProductNumber ;
GO

Answer 8

This works for up to 5 dates and handles nulls. Just couldn't get it to work as an Inline function.
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.MinDate(#Date1 datetime = Null,
#Date2 datetime = Null,
#Date3 datetime = Null,
#Date4 datetime = Null,
#Date5 datetime = Null)
RETURNS Datetime AS
BEGIN
--USAGE select dbo.MinDate('20120405',null,null,'20110305',null)
DECLARE #Output datetime;
WITH Datelist_CTE(DT)
AS (
SELECT #Date1 AS DT WHERE #Date1 is not NULL UNION
SELECT #Date2 AS DT WHERE #Date2 is not NULL UNION
SELECT #Date3 AS DT WHERE #Date3 is not NULL UNION
SELECT #Date4 AS DT WHERE #Date4 is not NULL UNION
SELECT #Date5 AS DT WHERE #Date5 is not NULL
)
Select #Output=Min(DT) FROM Datelist_CTE;
RETURN #Output;
END;

Answer 9

Building on the brilliant logic / code from mathematix and scottyc, I submit:
DECLARE #a INT, #b INT, #c INT = 0;
WHILE #c < 100
BEGIN
SET #c += 1;
SET #a = ROUND(RAND()*100,0)-50;
SET #b = ROUND(RAND()*100,0)-50;
SELECT #a AS a, #b AS b,
#a - ( ABS(#a-#b) + (#a-#b) ) / 2 AS MINab,
#a + ( ABS(#b-#a) + (#b-#a) ) / 2 AS MAXab,
CASE WHEN (#a <= #b AND #a = #a - ( ABS(#a-#b) + (#a-#b) ) / 2)
OR (#a >= #b AND #a = #a + ( ABS(#b-#a) + (#b-#a) ) / 2)
THEN 'Success' ELSE 'Failure' END AS Status;
END;
Although the jump from scottyc's MIN function to the MAX function should have been obvious to me, it wasn't, so I've solved for it and included it here: SELECT #a + ( ABS(#b-#a) + (#b-#a) ) / 2. The randomly generated numbers, while not proof, should at least convince skeptics that both formulae are correct.

Answer 10

Use a temp table to insert the range of values, then select the min/max of the temp table from within a stored procedure or UDF. This is a basic construct, so feel free to revise as needed.
For example:
CREATE PROCEDURE GetMinSpeed() AS
BEGIN
CREATE TABLE #speed (Driver NVARCHAR(10), SPEED INT);
'
' Insert any number of data you need to sort and pull from
'
INSERT INTO #speed (N'Petty', 165)
INSERT INTO #speed (N'Earnhardt', 172)
INSERT INTO #speed (N'Patrick', 174)
SELECT MIN(SPEED) FROM #speed
DROP TABLE #speed
END

Answer 11

Select MIN(T.V) FROM (Select 1 as V UNION Select 2 as V) T

Answer 12

SELECT (WHEN first > second THEN second ELSE first END) the_minimal FROM table