Select max of literal values in SQL-CodePudding

Why can't I do this?

SELECT MAX(1, 2, 3, 4);

I'm just learning SQL and this is for learning purposes. I expect the result to be 4, but I get an error

Error Code: 1064. You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ', 2, 3, 4)' at line 1

CodePudding user response：

You're not looking for MAX here, but GREATEST:

SELECT GREATEST(1, 2, 3, 4);

CodePudding user response：

I finally did it with the MAX function. I know it's ugly and probably no one will use it this way, but I wanted to do it with MAX Here's the code

SELECT MAX(`values`) FROM(
    SELECT 1 AS `values`
    UNION
    SELECT 2
    UNION
    SELECT 3
    UNION
    SELECT 4
) a