TakeSmallest

TakeSmallest[list,n]

gives the n numerically smallest elements in list, sorted in ascending order.

TakeSmallest[listprop,n]

gives the property prop for the n smallest elements in list.

TakeSmallest[n]

represents an operator form of TakeSmallest that can be applied to an expression.

Details and Options

Examples

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Basic Examples  (5)

Take the two smallest numbers in a list:

Do the same using the operator form of TakeSmallest:

Take the two smallest values in an association:

Get the two smallest quantities in a list of Quantity objects:

Quantities can be present in multiple units:

Get the two least recent dates in a list of DateObject constructs:

By default, Missing[] and several other symbolic expressions are excluded from the results:

Take the 4 four smallest numbers, or as many as are available if fewer:

Scope  (4)

Get the two smallest elements in a list:

Get the positions of the two smallest elements in a list:

Get the two smallest elements in a list along with their positions:

Get the two smallest elements in a list with their positions given first:

Get associations containing the element and position of the two smallest elements in a list:

Get the three planets with the smallest radii:

Get the release dates of the five oldest James Bond movies:

Options  (1)

ExcludedForms  (1)

The option ExcludedForms->list specifies that elements matching any of the forms in list should be dropped before the elements are compared:

The default value ExcludedForms->Automatic excludes some common non-numeric expressions but leaves most symbolic expressions:

Applications  (2)

Find the codons (groups of three consecutive nucleotides) with the lowest relative frequencies in the list of nucleotides of a gene:

Find the noble gases with the lowest boiling point and density:

Possible Issues  (2)

If fewer than the requested number of elements are present, TakeSmallest will not evaluate:

If the elements are not comparable, TakeSmallest will not evaluate:

Neat Examples  (1)

Take the five least dense chemical elements:

Wolfram Research (2015), TakeSmallest, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeSmallest.html (updated 2019).

Text

Wolfram Research (2015), TakeSmallest, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeSmallest.html (updated 2019).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2015. "TakeSmallest." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2019. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeSmallest.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2015). TakeSmallest. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeSmallest.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2024_takesmallest, author="Wolfram Research", title="{TakeSmallest}", year="2019", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeSmallest.html}", note=[Accessed: 22-December-2024 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2024_takesmallest, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={TakeSmallest}, year={2019}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeSmallest.html}, note=[Accessed: 22-December-2024 ]}