max()

Description

Find the larger of two numbers using the

max()

Syntax

Use the following function to compare two numbers and find the larger:

max(x, y)

Parameters

The function admits the following parameters:

• x

  : the first number to compare. Allowed data types: any data type.

• y

  : the second number to compare. Allowed data types: any data type.

Returns

This function returns the larger of the two parameter values compared.

Example Code

Compares

a

b

1int a = 25;
2int b = 14;
3
4void setup() {
5  Serial.begin(9600);
6
7  int max = max(a, b);
8
9  Serial.print("The larger value is: ");
10  Serial.println(max);
11}
12
13void loop() {
14}

Another typical application could be to constrain a minimum value of a variable, as shown in the following example:

1sensVal = max(sensVal, 20); // assigns sensVal to the larger of sensVal or 20
2                            // (effectively ensuring that it is at least 20)

Notes and Warnings

Perhaps counter-intuitively,

max()

min()

Because of the way the

max()

1max(a--, 0);  // avoid this - yields incorrect results
2
3// use this instead:
4max(a, 0);
5a--;  // keep other math outside the function

See also

• abs()
• constrain()
• map()
• min()
• pow()
• sq()
• sqrt()