C++ chrono::min() Function

The std::chrono::min() function in C++, returns the minimum possible duration that a particular time unit can hold. This function is used in a time related computations when you need a base reference for the minimum duration value, ensuring comparisons and calculations work within the bounds of the duration type.

The chrono::min() function works with different time units, such as seconds, milliseconds or hours.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for std::chrono::min() function.

static constexpr duration min();

Parameters

This function does not accepts any parameters.

Return value

This function returns the duration object with its lowest possible value.

Example 1

In the following example, we are going to retrieve the minimum value of the chrono::seconds.

#include <iostream>
#include <chrono>
int main() {
   auto a = std::chrono::seconds::min();
   std::cout << "Result : " << a.count() << " seconds\n";
   return 0;
}

Output

Output of the above code is as follows −

Result : -9223372036854775808 seconds

Example 2

Consider the following example, we are going to retrieve the minimum representable time point for the chrono::system_clock.

#include <iostream>
#include <chrono>
int main() {
   auto a = std::chrono::system_clock::time_point::min();
   std::time_t min_time = std::chrono::system_clock::to_time_t(a);
   std::cout << "Result : " << std::ctime( & min_time);
   return 0;
}

Output

Following is the output of the above code −

Result : Tue Sep 21 06:06:12 1677