Chosing maximum from multiple columns

[IWeb]

Hello,

I have e.g. 3 columns with double values. How I can I chose the column with the maximum value (something like the sample below; I know that the max - function threats rows, not columns):

SELECT max(col1,col2,col3) FROM mytable;

Thanks,

btw: I am using MySQL 3.23

[tomhath]

Read what the manual says about the CASE statement. It's really a function.

What you need is something like this (untested):

select
  case 
    when row1 >= row2 and row1 >= row3 then row1
    when row2 > row1 and row2 > row3 then row2
    else row3
  end as maxrow
from ...
where ...

[IWeb]

thanks!