The max( Command

We're glad you came by, but you might find what you're looking for elsewhere. TI-Basic Developer is not the site it once was. While its information on commands and other calculator features remains almost second-to-none, its forum, archives, and even hosting service, Wikidot, have been decaying for years. The calculator community would love to see what you're working on, or help you in your next coding adventure, but TI-Basic Developer is no longer the place to do it. Instead, you should head over to Cemetech (primarily American) or TI-Planet (primarily international). Both are active, well-established forums with their own archives, chatrooms, reference material, and abundant coding tools and resources. We'll see you there, we hope.

Command Summary

Returns the maximum of two elements or of a list.

Command Syntax

• for two numbers: max(x,y)
• for a list: max(list)
• comparing a number to each element of a list: max(x,list) or max(list,x)
• pairwise comparing two lists: max(list1,list2)

Menu Location

Press:

1. MATH to access the math menu.
2. RIGHT to access the NUM submenu.
3. 7 to select max(, or use arrows.

Alternatively, press:

1. 2nd LIST to access the list menu.
2. LEFT to access the MATH submenu.
3. 2 to select max(, or use arrows.

Calculator Compatibility

TI-83/84/+/SE

Token Size

1 byte

max(X,Y) returns the largest of the two numbers X and Y. max(list) returns the largest element of list. max(list1,list2) returns the pairwise maxima of the two lists. max(list1,X) (equivalently, max(X,list1)) returns a list whose elements are the larger of X or the corresponding element of the original list.

max(2,3)
     3
max({2,3,4})
     4
max({1,3},{4,2})
     {4 3}
max({1,3},2)
     {2 3}

Unlike comparison operators such as < and >, max( can also compare complex numbers. To do this, both arguments must be complex — either complex numbers or complex lists: max(2,i) will throw an error even though max(2+0i,i) won't. In the case of complex numbers, the number with the largest absolute value will be returned. When the two numbers have the same absolute value, the first one will be returned: max(i,-i) returns i and max(-i,i) returns -i.

Advanced Uses

max( can be used in Boolean comparisons to see if at least one of a list is 1 (true) — useful because commands like If or While only deal with numbers, and not lists, but comparisons like L₁=L₂ return a list of values. In general, the behavior you want varies, and you will use the min( function or the max( function accordingly.

Using max( will give you a lenient test — if any one element of the list is 1 (true), then the max( of the list is true — this is equivalent to putting an or in between every element. For example, this tests if K is equal to any of 24, 25, 26, or 34 (the getKey arrow key values):

:If max(K={24,25,26,34
:Disp "ARROW KEY

To get the element of a real list in Ans with the greatest absolute value, use imag(max(iAns)) or max(abs(Ans)).

max( can be also used along with min( to constrain a value between a lower and upper number:

:max(-1,min(1,100)) // returns 1 because 1 is between -1 & 100
:max(-1,min(1,0)) // returns 0 because 1 is not between -1 & 0

where the bounds for which the number 1 must fall between are first argument of max( and the second argument of min( in the above code.

Error Conditions

• ERR:DATA TYPE is thrown when comparing a real and a complex number. This can be avoided by adding +0i to the real number (or i^4 right after it, for those who are familiar with complex numbers)
• ERR:DIM MISMATCH is thrown, when using max( with two lists, if they have different dimensions.

Related Commands

• min(
• sum(
• prod(

.