Python min() Function

Returns the smallest value in a list of parameters or in an iterable.

Syntax

Python
min(iterable1, iterable2, ..., key = None, default = None)
min(item1, item2, ..., key = None)

Parameters

ParameterDescription
iterable1, iterable2, ... Required. A list of iterables containing the items to be compared. In this form at least one iterable must be passed to the function, and the smallest item from all items in all iterables will be returned.
item1, item2, ... Required. A list of items to be compared. In this form at least 2 items must be passed to the function.
key Optional. A function that returns, for each item, a representative value for that item for use in the comparison.
default Optional. If the iterable is empty then this value is returned.

Example

Python
print(min(1, 3, 2))
nums = [10, 40, 30, 20]
print(min(nums))

Output

1
10

Notes

If the iterable is empty, min() will throw a ValueError exception unless a default value is provided:

Example:
Python
try:
    min([])
except ValueError:
    print('An empty collection has no min value.')

print(min([], default = 0))
Output: 
An empty collection has no min value.
0

If the key parameter is used to provide a function that returns a number used to determine the maximum value in the collection. In the following example, the len() function is used to determine which string is the longest.

Example

Python
myList = ['small', 'bigger', 'very big']
print(min(myList, key = len))
Output: 
small