Python: min() function

Last update on August 19 2022 21:50:45 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

min() function

The min() function is used to find the item with the smallest value in an iterable.

Version:

(Python 3.2.5)

Syntax:

min(iterable, *[, key, default])

Parameter:

Name	Description	Required / Optional
iterable	An iterable, with one or more items to compare.	Required
key	Specifies a one-argument ordering function like that used for list.sort().	Optional
default	Specifies an object to return if the provided iterable is empty. If the iterable is empty and default is not provided, a ValueError is raised.	Optional

Syntax:

min(arg1, arg2, *args[, key])

Parameter:

Name	Description	Required / Optional
arg1, arg2, ..args	If one positional argument is provided, iterable must be a non-empty iterable. The largest item in the iterable is returned. If two or more positional arguments are provided, the largest of the positional arguments is returned.	Required
key	Specifies a one-argument ordering function like that used for list.sort().	Optional

Return value:

The smallest item in an iterable.

Example: Python min() function

# using min(arg1, arg2, *args)
print('Minimum is:', min(2, 5, 3, 7, 6))

# using min(iterable)
num = [1, 3, 4, 10, 25, 15, 7]
print('Minimum is:', min(num))

Output:

Minimum is: 2
Minimum is: 1

Pictorial Presentation:

Python: Built-in-function - min() function

Pictorial Presentation:

Example: Python min() function

x = [25, 100, 1500, 725]
y = [10, 5]
z = [35, 525, 98]

# using min(iterable, *iterables, key)
print('Minimum is:', min(x, y, z, key=len))

Output:

Minimum is: [10, 5]

Python Code Editor:

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