NAME¶

std::min - std::min

Synopsis¶

Defined in header <algorithm>
template< class T > (1) (constexpr since C++14)
const T& min( const T& a, const T& b );
template< class T, class Compare > (2) (constexpr since C++14)
const T& min( const T& a, const T& b, Compare comp );
template< class T > (3) (since C++11)
T min( std::initializer_list<T> ilist ); (constexpr since C++14)
template< class T, class Compare > (4) (since C++11)
T min( std::initializer_list<T> ilist, Compare comp ); (constexpr since C++14)

Returns the smaller of the given values.

1,2) Returns the smaller of a and b.
1) Uses operator< to compare the values.
If T is not LessThanComparable, the behavior is undefined.
2) Use the comparison function comp to compare the values.
3,4) Returns the smallest of the values in initializer list ilist.
If ilist.size() is zero, or T is not CopyConstructible, the behavior is undefined.
3) Uses operator< to compare the values.
If T is not LessThanComparable, the behavior is undefined.
4) Use the comparison function comp to compare the values.

Parameters¶

a, b - the values to compare
ilist - initializer list with the values to compare
comparison function object (i.e. an object that satisfies the requirements
of Compare) which returns true if a is less than b.

The signature of the comparison function should be equivalent to the
following:

bool cmp(const Type1& a, const Type2& b);
cmp -
While the signature does not need to have const&, the function must not
modify the objects passed to it and must be able to accept all values of
type (possibly const) Type1 and Type2 regardless of value category (thus,
Type1& is not allowed
, nor is Type1 unless for Type1 a move is equivalent to a copy
(since C++11)).
The types Type1 and Type2 must be such that an object of type T can be
implicitly converted to both of them.

Return value¶

1,2) The smaller of a and b. If the values are equivalent, returns a.
3,4) The smallest value in ilist. If several values are equivalent to the smallest,
returns the leftmost such value.

Complexity¶

1) Exactly one comparison using operator<.
2) Exactly one application of the comparison function comp.
3,4) Given \(\scriptsize N\)N as ilist.size():
3) Exactly \(\scriptsize N-1\)N-1 comparisons using operator<.
4) Exactly \(\scriptsize N-1\)N-1 applications of the comparison function comp.

Possible implementation¶

min (1)
template<class T>
const T& min(const T& a, const T& b)
{
return (b < a) ? b : a;
}
min (2)
template<class T, class Compare>
const T& min(const T& a, const T& b, Compare comp)
{
return (comp(b, a)) ? b : a;
}
min (3)
template<class T>
T min(std::initializer_list<T> ilist)
{
return *std::min_element(ilist.begin(), ilist.end());
}
min (4)
template<class T, class Compare>
T min(std::initializer_list<T> ilist, Compare comp)
{
return *std::min_element(ilist.begin(), ilist.end(), comp);
}

Notes¶

Capturing the result of std::min by reference produces a dangling reference if one
of the parameters is a temporary and that parameter is returned:

int n = -1;
const int& r = std::min(n + 2, n * 2); // r is dangling

Example¶

// Run this code

#include <algorithm>
#include <iostream>
#include <string_view>

int main()
{
std::cout << "smaller of 10 and 010 is " << std::min(10, 010) << '\n'
<< "smaller of 'd' and 'b' is '" << std::min('d', 'b') << "'\n"
<< "shortest of \"foo\", \"bar\", and \"hello\" is \""
<< std::min({"foo", "bar", "hello"},
[](const std::string_view s1, const std::string_view s2)
{
return s1.size() < s2.size();
}) << "\"\n";
}

Output:¶

smaller of 10 and 010 is 8
smaller of 'd' and 'b' is 'b'
shortest of "foo", "bar", and "hello" is "foo"

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to
previously published C++ standards.

DR Applied to Behavior as published Correct behavior
LWG 281 C++98 T was required to be CopyConstructible for not required
overloads (1,2)

See also¶

max returns the greater of the given values
(function template)
minmax returns the smaller and larger of two elements
(C++11) (function template)
min_element returns the smallest element in a range
(function template)
clamp clamps a value between a pair of boundary values
(C++17) (function template)
ranges::min returns the smaller of the given values
(C++20) (niebloid)