Lee

>I think the formula is just right - very clever. But is it possible to make
>sure that col1, col2 and col3 are all from the same record?

Different question, different answer I ween :-)

SET @n = <?>;
SELECT
id,
MIN( LEAST( ABS(@n-col1), LEAST( ABS(@n-col2), ABS(@n-cl3) ))) AS min
FROM tbl
GROUP BY id;

PB

-----

Lee Goddard wrote:

Peter Brawley wrote:

/>Is there an efficient way to find the closest numerical value, across
>three columns? I do not know if there is a way to find it across one. /

Not sure about efficiency, but if the criterion number is @n, do you mean ...

SELECT LEAST( ABS(MIN(@n-col1)),
              LEAST( ABS(MIN(@n-col2)),
                     ABS(MIN(@n-col3))
                   )
            )
FROM ...

I think the formula is just right - very clever. But is it possible to make sure that col1, col2 and col3 are all from the same record?

Thanks in anticipation
Lee
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