max(1,2,3,4)=;
min(1,2,3,4)=;

returns 4 and 1 respectively, but typing

max(Data1_a)=;

simply returns the first value of that dataset.

I found this just trying...

The max() and min() functions are finally documented in Origin 6.1 and they do exactly what you describe. This is the description of max() in the Origin 6.1 LabTalk help file:

max(values)
Returns the maximum value from a set of values. Can take up to 10 arguments. For example, y=max(1,2,3,4,5,6).

Ryan's suggestion might still work for you if you create the data set results={funcA,funcB,funcC}. Use sum(results) to get the maximum (as sum.max) and minimum (as sum.min) values.

If you have a lot of functions, or if you're concerned about which of them actually yield the minimum and maximum values, it would be more convenient to name them func1, func2, func3, etc., rather than funcA, funcB, funcC. The following simple script uses the limit command instead of the sum function, because it also gives the indices of the minimum and maximum data set values. I've assumed that all functions have the single independent variable, var, but you should be able to extend it to any number of variables. Note: the limit command will change the values of x and y, so be careful about using them for your variable names in this example.

/* first create a temporary data set with N elements */
N=10; /* the number of functions */
results=data(1,N);

/* now fill that data set with the function results */
var=3; /* the variable value */
for(i=1;i<=N;i++) results[i]=func$(i)(var);

/* find and report the values you want */
limit results;
del results;
type "max: func$(limit.imax)($(var))=$(limit.ymax)";
type "min: func$(limit.imin)($(var))=$(limit.ymin)";

The response in the script window should look something like this,
max: func2(3)=10
min: func9(3)=0

Mike,

Thanks for the suggestion!

Bjorn,

In the hopes of making this task easier for you in the future, I have entered a suggestion in our database to add a MAX( ) function. I have included your name and e-mail address in case the developers need to contact you for further information. However, I expect that such a new feature will not be added to our upcoming release (Origin 6.0 - due out in mid-May) since it is so close to the release date.

Sincerely,
Ryan Toomey
Technical Support Engineer
Microcal Software, Inc.

Bjorn,

Although I am not exactly sure what you mean by variables, I can offer you a suggestion based on my current understanding of your request:

It is possible to obtain the maximum and/or minimum value of any datasets by accessing the sum.min and sum.max object properties. To do so, you must first execute the sum(dataset) function on the dataset of interest. Just to let you know, selecting Analysis:Statistics on Columns runs the sum(dataset) function automatically (on the selected dataset(s) or range of selected dataset(s)).

If this information is not what you were looking for, please reply to this post and describe your situation in more detail. Perhaps then I will understand your situation better and can offer a more appropriate solution.

Sincerely,

Ryan Toomey

perhaps I was a bit unclear in my question. What I´m looking for is a method to chosse between a number of values, assigned inside a Labtalk script. Let's say that I have three functions, funcA,funcB and funcC, that is calculated in my script and I want to have the value from whichever is the highest one as an output. In basic I would do this by MAX(funcA,funcB,funcC). If I have eg. 5 functions to choose between it is not so effective to make this choice by a series of if-commands!