min / max / minmax

The least and greatest element — by natural order or a computed key.

.min and .max return the extreme elements; with a block they compare by a computed key. .minmax returns both ends at once as a range.

By a computed key #

Pass a key extractor to compare by something other than the value — here, string length.

say <bb a ccc>.min(*.chars);
say <bb a ccc>.max(*.chars);

a
ccc

a is shortest, ccc longest — the comparison is on .chars, not alphabetical order.

minmax — both ends #

.minmax returns a Range from the least to the greatest element.

say (3, 1, 2).minmax;

1..3

Notes #

• With no argument, .min/.max use the elements' natural cmp order (numeric for numbers, alphabetic for strings).
• .minmax is one pass over the data — cheaper than calling .min and .max separately when you need both.
• These pair with .sort (which takes the same key-extractor block) — see map / grep / sort.