Instance Method

min(by:)

Returns the minimum element in the sequence, using the given predicate as the comparison between elements.

Declaration

@warn_unqualified_access func min(by areInIncreasingOrder: (Self.Element, Self.Element) throws -> Bool) rethrows -> Self.Element?

Parameters

areInIncreasingOrder

A predicate that returns true if its first argument should be ordered before its second argument; otherwise, false.

Return Value

The sequence’s minimum element, according to areInIncreasingOrder. If the sequence has no elements, returns nil.

Discussion

The predicate must be a strict weak ordering over the elements. That is, for any elements a, b, and c, the following conditions must hold:

  • areInIncreasingOrder(a, a) is always false. (Irreflexivity)

  • If areInIncreasingOrder(a, b) and areInIncreasingOrder(b, c) are both true, then areInIncreasingOrder(a, c) is also true. (Transitive comparability)

  • Two elements are incomparable if neither is ordered before the other according to the predicate. If a and b are incomparable, and b and c are incomparable, then a and c are also incomparable. (Transitive incomparability)

This example shows how to use the min(by:) method on a dictionary to find the key-value pair with the lowest value.

let hues = ["Heliotrope": 296, "Coral": 16, "Aquamarine": 156]
let leastHue = hues.min { a, b in a.value < b.value }
print(leastHue)
// Prints "Optional(("Coral", 16))"

Complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the sequence.

See Also

Finding Elements

func contains(Self.Element) -> Bool

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the sequence contains the given element.

Available when Element conforms to Equatable.
func contains(where: (Self.Element) -> Bool) -> Bool

Returns a Boolean value indicating whether the sequence contains an element that satisfies the given predicate.

func first(where: (Self.Element) -> Bool) -> Self.Element?

Returns the first element of the sequence that satisfies the given predicate.

func min() -> Self.Element?

Returns the minimum element in the sequence.

Available when Element conforms to Comparable.
func max() -> Self.Element?

Returns the maximum element in the sequence.

Available when Element conforms to Comparable.
func max(by: (Self.Element, Self.Element) -> Bool) -> Self.Element?

Returns the maximum element in the sequence, using the given predicate as the comparison between elements.