1.1

Syntax
MAX ( [ DISTINCT | ALL ] Expression )
The DISTINCT and ALL qualifiers eliminate or retain duplicates, but these qualifiers have no effect in a MAX
expression. Only one DISTINCT aggregate expression per SelectExpression on page 526 is allowed. For
example, the following query is not allowed:
SELECT COUNT (DISTINCT flying_time), MAX (DISTINCT miles)
FROM Flights
The Expression can contain multiple column references or expressions, but it cannot contain another aggregate
or subquery. It must evaluate to a built-in data type. You can therefore call methods that evaluate to built-in data
types. (For example, a method that returns a java.lang.Integer or int evaluates to an INTEGER.) If an expression
evaluates to NULL, the aggregate skips that value.
The type's comparison rules determine the maximum value. For CHAR and VARCHAR, the number of blank
spaces at the end of the value can affect how MAX is evaluated. For example, if the values 'z' and 'z ' are both
stored in a column, you cannot control which one will be returned as the maximum, because blank spaces are
ignored for character comparisons.
The resulting data type is the same as the expression on which it operates (it will never overflow).
Examples
-- find the latest date in the FlightAvailability table
SELECT MAX (flight_date) FROM FlightAvailability
-- find the longest flight originating from each airport,
-- but only when the longest flight is over 10 hours
SELECT MAX(flying_time), orig_airport
FROM Flights
GROUP BY orig_airport
HAVING MAX(flying_time) > 10
MIN function
MIN is an aggregate function that evaluates the minimum of an expression over a set of rows. MIN is allowed
only on expressions that evaluate to built-in data types (including CHAR, VARCHAR, DATE, TIME, etc.).
Syntax
MIN ( [ DISTINCT | ALL ] Expression )
The DISTINCT and ALL qualifiers eliminate or retain duplicates, but these qualifiers have no effect in a MIN
expression. Only one DISTINCT aggregate expression per SelectExpression on page 526 is allowed. For
example, the following query is not allowed:
SELECT COUNT (DISTINCT flying_time), MIN (DISTINCT miles)
FROM Flights
The Expression can contain multiple column references or expressions, but it cannot contain another aggregate
or subquery. It must evaluate to a built-in data type. You can therefore call methods that evaluate to built-in data
types. (For example, a method that returns a java.lang.Integer or int evaluates to an INTEGER.) If an expression
evaluates to NULL, the aggregate skips that value.
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