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clamp

PHP function Edit on GitHub ✎

(PHP 8 >= 8.6.0)

Return the given value if in range, else return the nearest bound

Description

clamp(mixed $value, mixed $min, mixed $max): mixed

Return the given value if in range of min and max. Else if it's lower than min, return min. Else return max.

Note

Values of different types will be compared using the standard comparison rules. For instance, a non-numeric string will be compared to an int as though it were 0, but multiple non-numeric string values will be compared alphanumerically. The actual value returned will be of the original type with no conversion applied.

Caution

Be careful when passing arguments of different types because clamp() can produce unpredictable results.

Parameters

value: Any comparable value to be clamped between min and max.
min: A comparable minimum to limit the value to.
max: A comparable maximum to limit the value to.

Return Values

clamp() returns the parameter value if considered "between" min and max according to standard comparisons.

If value is NAN, then the returned value will also be NAN.

Errors/Exceptions

If min is greater than max, clamp() throws a ValueError.

If min or max is NAN, clamp() throws a ValueError.

Examples

php

<?php
echo clamp(-5, min: 0, max: 100), PHP_EOL;  // 0
echo clamp(55, min: 0, max: 100), PHP_EOL;  // 55
echo clamp(103, min: 0, max: 100), PHP_EOL;  // 100

echo clamp("J", min: "A", max: "F"), PHP_EOL;  // "F"

clamp(
    new \DateTimeImmutable('2025-08-01'),
    min: new \DateTimeImmutable('2025-08-15'),
    max: new \DateTimeImmutable('2025-09-15'),
)->format('Y-m-d'), PHP_EOL; // 2025-08-15
?>