MIN Function - SQL

Overview

The MIN function in SQL returns the lowest value in a specified column, helping to identify the minimum value within a dataset. It is often used in SELECT statements to find the smallest value from a set of rows, optionally filtered by a condition.

Example:

SELECT MIN(salary)
FROM company.employees
WHERE department_id = 1

Syntax:

SELECT MIN(column_name)
FROM table_name
[WHERE condition]

This returns the lowest value in column_name from table_name that meets the specified condition. In this syntax, the WHERE Statement is optional; if omitted, the MIN function will return the lowest value from all rows in the table.

Sample Data:

    
            department_id
            salary
        
            3
            123000
        
            2
            135000
        
            3
            115000
        
            NULL
            115000
        
            2
            125000
        
            1
            120000
        
            1
            105000
        
            5
            200000
        
            2
            107000
        
            1
            100000

department_id	salary
3	123000
2	135000
3	115000
NULL	115000
2	125000
1	120000
1	105000
5	200000
2	107000
1	100000

Example: Without the WHERE Statement

In this example, we are returning the lowest salary value in the company.employees table. The final output is 100000, which means that the lowest salary in the company is 100000.

Example: With the WHERE Statement

In this example, we are returning the lowest salary value in the company.employees table where the department_id column equals 1. The final output is 100000, which means that the lowest salary in department_id 1 is 100000.