max()

The max() function in PHP is used to find the highest value in an array or a list of variables. It returns the highest value from the input provided.

Syntax

max($var1, $var2, $var3, ...);

$var1, $var2, $var3 are the variables from which the maximum value will be returned. In other words, the max() function compares the values of all the variables passed in, and returns the highest value among them.

It can be called either with multiple parameters or with a single array parameter.

When called with a single array parameter, the max() function takes an array of values, like this:

$max_value = max([$var1, $var2, $var3]);

In this case, the max() function compares the values in the array [$var1, $var2, $var3], returns the highest value among them, and then assigns it to the variable $max_value.

It’s important to note that if the max() function is called with a single non-array parameter, it will cause an error:

$max_value = max($var1);

The function expects at least two parameters when called with multiple values. Therefore, to use max() with a single parameter, it’s necessary to use an array:

$max_value = max([$var1]);

This will return the value of $var1, since it’s the only value in the array.

Example

The example below uses the max() function to find the highest value in the array of numbers and then prints the result using the echo statement. The output will be the maximum value found in the array.

$numbers = array(23, 12, 35, 67, 8, 90);
$max_value = max($numbers);

echo "The maximum value in the array is: " . $max_value;

This example results in the following output:

The maximum value in the array is: 90