php man page for min

MIN(3)									 1								    MIN(3)

min - Find lowest value

SYNOPSIS
       mixed min (array  $values)

DESCRIPTION
       mixed min (mixed  $value1, mixed  $value2, [mixed  $...])

	If  the  first	and  only  parameter  is an array, min(3) returns the lowest value in that array. If at least two parameters are provided,
       min(3) returns the smallest of these values.

       Note

	       Values of different types will be compared using the  standard comparison rules. For instance, a non-numeric string  will  be  com-
	      pared  to  an  integer  as though it were 0, but multiple string values will be compared alphanumerically. The actual value returned
	      will be of the original type with no conversion applied.

PARAMETERS
	      o $values
		- An array containing the values.

	      o $value1
		- Any comparable value.

	      o $value2
		- Any comparable value.

	      o $...
		- Any comparable value.

RETURN VALUES
       min(3) returns the parameter value considered "lowest" according to standard comparisons. If multiple values of different types evaluate as
       equal (e.g.  0 and 'abc') the first provided to the function will be returned.

EXAMPLES
       Example #1

	      Example uses of min(3)

	      <?php
	      echo min(2, 3, 1, 6, 7);	// 1
	      echo min(array(2, 4, 5)); // 2

	      // The string 'hello' when compared to an int is treated as 0
	      // Since the two values are equal, the order they are provided determines the result
	      echo min(0, 'hello');	// 0
	      echo min('hello', 0);	// hello

	      // Here we are comparing -1 < 0, so -1 is the lowest value
	      echo min('hello', -1);	// -1

	      // With multiple arrays of different lengths, min returns the shortest
	      $val = min(array(2, 2, 2), array(1, 1, 1, 1)); // array(2, 2, 2)

	      // Multiple arrays of the same length are compared from left to right
	      // so in our example: 2 == 2, but 4 < 5
	      $val = min(array(2, 4, 8), array(2, 5, 1)); // array(2, 4, 8)

	      // If both an array and non-array are given, the array is never returned
	      // as comparisons treat arrays as greater than any other value
	      $val = min('string', array(2, 5, 7), 42);   // string

	      // If one argument is NULL or a boolean, it will be compared against
	      // other values using the rule FALSE < TRUE regardless of the other types involved
	      // In the below examples, both -10 and 10 are treated as TRUE in the comparison
	      $val = min(-10, FALSE, 10); // FALSE
	      $val = min(-10, NULL, 10);  // NULL

	      // 0, on the other hand, is treated as FALSE, so is "lower than" TRUE
	      $val = min(0, TRUE); // 0
	      ?>

SEE ALSO
       max(3), count(3).

PHP Documentation Group 														    MIN(3)