Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE in Java with Examples


The Integer class of Java provides two constants named Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE represents the maximum and minimum possible values for an integer variable in Java. The actual value of Integer.MAX_VALUE is 231 -1 which is equivalent to 2147483647 and the actual value of Integer.MIN_VALUE is -231 which is equivalent to -2147483648. For our convenience, instead of writing this big whole number in our program, we use their constant representation. This article aims to explore the utility and how to use Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE in our Java programs.

Examples of Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE in Java

In this section, we are going to see the different ways of using Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE in our Java programs.

Example 1

The following example shows us how to use the Integer.MIN_VALUE and Integer.MAX_VALUE to display the maximum and minimum possible values for an integer variable in Java.

public class Example1 {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      // storing the minimum and maximum values
      int smallest = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
      int largest = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
      // to show the smallest and largest integer values
      System.out.println("The smallest value is: " + smallest);
      System.out.println("The largest value is: " + largest);
   }
}

Output

The smallest value is: -2147483648
The largest value is: 2147483647

Example 2

The following example illustrates how to find the largest and smallest elements from an array using Integer.MIN_VALUE and Integer.MAX_VALUE.

Approach

  • The first step is to declare and initialize an array with 5 integer elements.

  • Now, store the minimum and maximum values to integer variables.

  • Define a for-each loop that iterates through the defined array.

  • Inside this loop, take two if blocks to compare and update the smallest and largest elements from the given array.

  • In the end, print the results and exit.

public class Example2 {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      // initializing an array of integers
      int[] numericList = {10, -5, 3, 7, 15};
      // storing the minimum and maximum values
      int smlst = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
      int lrgst = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
      // to loop through the given array
      for (int number : numericList) {
         // to compare each element with smallest and largest
         if (number < smlst) {
            // to update smallest if a smaller element is found
            smlst = number;
         }
         if (number > lrgst) {
            // to update largest if a larger element is found
            lrgst = number;
         }
      }
      // to show the smallest and largest element from array
      System.out.println("The smallest element is: " + smlst);
      System.out.println("The largest element is: " + lrgst);
   }
}

Output

The smallest element is: -5
The largest element is: 15

Overflow condition of Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE

An overflow condition occurs when the result of an operation exceeds the range of the data type. If we try to add 1 to Integer.MAX_VALUE, we will get Integer.MIN_VALUE as the result. Similarly, if we try to subtract 1 from Integer.MIN_VALUE, we will get Integer.MAX_VALUE as the result.

Example 3

In this example, we will show the practical implementation of Overflow condition of the Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE constants.

public class Example3 {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      // storing the minimum and maximum values
      int smallest = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
      int largest = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
      // to show the smallest and largest integer values
      System.out.println("The value after subtracting 1 from Integer.MIN_VALUE is: " + (smallest - 1));
      System.out.println("The value after adding 1 to Integer.MAX_VALUE is: " + (largest + 1));
   }
}

Output

The value after subtracting 1 from Integer.MIN_VALUE is: 2147483647
The value after adding 1 to Integer.MAX_VALUE is: -2147483648

Conclusion

These two constants Integer.MAX_VALUE and Integer.MIN_VALUE comes very handy while performing various operations such as finding the largest and smallest elements from a collection of integers. In this article, we have learned the ways of using these two constants through example programs.

Updated on: 20-Jul-2023

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