> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://documentation.astera.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://documentation.astera.com/astera-data-stack-v6/functions/math/min-date.md).
# Min (Date)
| **Name** | ***Min (Date)*** |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Syntax | Min (Date first, Date second) |
| Purpose | To return the earlier of two date values. |
| Description | Returns the minimum of two date values. |
| Return Type | DateTime |
| Parameters |
first \[System.DateTime] – First value
second \[System.DateTime] – Second value
|
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**Example**
In this example, we are passing DateTime values to the function transformation object using a *Variables* object.
Where,
*first* = 09/08/1998
*second* = 05/04/1995
In the output window, you can see that the earlier date of the two provided date values has been returned.
.png)
Let’s now pass the same date values, but with different time values.
Where,
*first* = 09/08/1998 02:50:40 AM
*second* = 09/08/1998 02:50:50 AM
.png)
In the output window, you can see that the earlier datetime of the two provided datetime values has been returned.
.png)
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