The SQL MAX function is a built-in function in SQL (Structured Query Language) that is used to return the maximum value of a given column in a database table. The MAX function can be used with any data type including numeric, date, and string.
Syntax
The syntax of the MAX function is as follows:
SELECT MAX(column_name) FROM table_name;
In this syntax, the MAX function is used to retrieve the maximum value of the specified column from the given table.
Example
Let’s consider a simple example to demonstrate how the MAX function works in SQL. Consider the following table named “Training_Course”:
Training_Course
| ID | NAME | DURATION | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SQL | 5 | 200 |
| 2 | T-SQL | 7 | 700 |
| 3 | MySQL | 5 | 600 |
| 4 | PL/SQL | 7 | 800 |
| 5 | PostgreSQL | 6 | 500 |
Suppose we want to find the maximum price from the table “Training_Course”. We can use the MAX function in SQL as follows:
select MAX(PRICE) from Training_Course;
The result of this query will be: 800
Also, the MAX function can be used with other SQL functions such as GROUP BY, WHERE, and HAVING clauses to get more specific results from a database table.
In conclusion, the SQL MAX function is a useful function in SQL that allows us to retrieve the maximum value of a specified column from a database table. It is a simple yet powerful function that can be used to make complex queries and generate insightful reports from a database.