GREATEST is one of the vital Numeric/Math functions of Oracle. It is used to get the greatest value from a list of expressions. The GREATEST function is supported in the various versions of the Oracle/PLSQL, including, Oracle 12c, Oracle 11g, Oracle 10g, Oracle 9i and Oracle 8i.
Syntax:
GREATEST( expr_1, expr_2, ... expr_n )
Parameters: expr_1, expr_2, … expr_n: It is used to specify the expression to be evaluated.
Example 1:
GREATEST( 5, 6, 9, 10 ) |
Output:
10
Explanation: The greatest value is 10 in the above expression.
Example 2:
GREATEST( ‘5’, ‘6’, ‘9’, ‘10’ ) |
Output:
‘9’
Explanation: Since it is a character comparison, hence ‘9’ here is Greatest since it has a higher character set value.
Example 3:
GREATEST( ‘ant’, ‘boy’, ‘elephant’, ‘zebra’ ) |
Output:
‘zebra’
Explanation: Since it is a character comparison, hence ‘zebra’ here is Greatest since it has a higher character set value.
Example 4:
GREATEST( ‘ant’, ‘any’, ‘ani’, ‘ana’ ) |
Output:
‘any’
Explanation: Since it is a character comparison, hence ‘any’ here is Greatest since it has a higher character set value.
