JuliaLang/julia

min, min, minmax inconsistencies

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#61,841 opened on May 18, 2026

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 (13 comments) (2 reactions) (0 assignees)Julia (5,773 forks)batch import
buggood first issuemaths

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Description

The argument-handling of min, max, and minmax is currently somewhat inconsistent:

  • min and max can have 1+ arguments (code for 3+ args here), but minmax can only have 1 or 2 arguments (from discourse)
  • all three can have 1 numeric argument, but this is not mentioned in the docstrings
  • min and max support missing (returning missing), but throw a MethodError with a single missing argument ala min(missing)
  • minmax(missing, 1) is incorrect, returning (1, missing) rather than (missing, missing) — this is a clear bug

These are all easy to fix, so marking as "good first issue". Feel free to submit a single PR for just one of the above items.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Examine the implementations of min, max, and minmax in base/operators.jl to identify inconsistencies: 1) make minmax support 1+ arguments, 2) document 1 argument behavior, 3) fix single missing argument error, 4) correct minmax(missing, 1) output.
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None
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
JuliaGit
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
85