SMALLEST

The SMALLEST function returns the smallest value of an expression. You can use this function to compare numeric values or date values.

Return Value

The data type of the expression. It can be INTEGER, LONGINT, DECIMAL, or DATE.

Syntax

SMALLEST(expression [CACHE] [dimension...])

Parameters

expression

The expression whose smallest value is to be returned.

CACHE

Specifies slightly different internal behavior. Specify this keyword only when the original performance is extremely slow.

dimension

The name of a dimension of the result; or, the name of a relation between one dimension of expression and another dimension that you want as a dimension of the result.

By default, SMALLEST returns a single value. When you indicate one or more dimensions for the result, SMALLEST tests for values along the dimensions that are specified and returns an array of values. Each dimension must be either a dimension of expression or related to one of its dimensions.

Tip:

When you specify a dimension that is not an actual dimension of expression, but, instead, is dimension that is related to a dimension of expression and when there are multiple relations between the two dimensions, Oracle OLAP uses the default relation between the dimensions to perform the calculation. (See the RELATION command for more information on default relations.) When you do not want Oracle OLAP to use this default relation, specify the related dimension by specifying the name of a specify relation.

Usage Notes

NA Values and SMALLEST

SMALLEST is affected by the NASKIP option in the same manner as other aggregate functions. When NASKIP is set to YES (the default), SMALLEST ignores NA values and returns the smallest value or values that are not NA. When NASKIP is set to NO, SMALLEST returns NA when any value of the expression is NA. When all the values of the expression are NA, SMALLEST returns NA for either setting of NASKIP.

Examples

Example 8-101 Finding the Month with the Least Amount of Sportswear Sales

This example uses the SMALLEST function to find the smallest monthly sportswear sales for three districts during the first half of 1996. To see the smallest sales figure for each district, specify district as the dimension of the results.

LIMIT product TO 'Sportswear'
LIMIT district TO FIRST 3
LIMIT month TO 'Jan96' TO 'Jun96'
REPORT HEADING 'Smallest Sales' SMALLEST(sales district)

The preceding statements produce the following output.

                Smallest
DISTRICT         Sales
-------------- ----------
Boston          57,079.10
Atlanta        129,616.08
Chicago         77,489.51