Find the maximum string in one or more lists

Summary

The max macro compares strings lexicographically using Java’s String.compareTo() and returns the maximum (highest) value.

Syntax 

${max;<list>[;<list>...]}

Parameters

  • list - One or more semicolon-separated lists of strings

Behavior

  • Compares strings lexicographically
  • Case-sensitive comparison
  • Returns the highest string value
  • Uses standard Java string ordering

Examples

Find maximum string:

${max;apple,banana,cherry}
# Returns: "cherry"

Multiple lists:

${max;abc,xyz;def,mno}
# Returns: "xyz"

Numeric strings (lexicographic):

${max;1,10,2,20}
# Returns: "20" (lexicographic, not numeric)

Use Cases

  • Finding highest string value
  • String comparison
  • Alphabetic sorting (last)
  • String selection
  • Data analysis

Notes

  • Lexicographic (dictionary) ordering
  • Case-sensitive (“Z” < “a”)
  • Not numeric comparison
  • For numeric max, use proper number comparison
  • See also: ${min} for minimum
  • See also: ${vmax} for version comparison
  • See also: ${nmax} for numeric comparison

See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java