mink — Return the k smallest elements in MATLAB and RunMat.
mink(A,k) returns the smallest k values from each slice of A along the first non-singleton dimension. A second output returns one-based indices within the selected dimension.
Syntax
B = mink(A, k)
[B, I] = mink(A, k)
B = mink(A, k, dim)
[B, I] = mink(A, k, dim)
B = mink(A, k, "ComparisonMethod", method)
[B, I] = mink(A, k, "ComparisonMethod", method)
B = mink(A, k, dim, "ComparisonMethod", method)
[B, I] = mink(A, k, dim, "ComparisonMethod", method)Inputs
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A | Any | Yes | — | Input array. |
k | NumericScalar | Yes | — | Number of elements to select from each slice. |
dim | Any | No | — | Dimension to operate along. |
optionName | StringScalar | No | "ComparisonMethod" | Name-value option name. |
optionValue | StringScalar | No | "auto" | Name-value option value. |
Returns
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
B | NumericArray | Selected values. |
I | NumericArray | One-based indices along the selected dimension. |
Returned values from mink depend on how many outputs the caller requests.
Errors
| Identifier | When | Message |
|---|---|---|
RunMat:topk:InvalidArgument | Argument count, k, dimension, or option values are invalid. | topk: invalid argument |
RunMat:topk:InvalidInput | Input values cannot be converted to supported top-k domains. | topk: invalid input |
RunMat:topk:Internal | Top-k selection fails due to gather or allocation internals. | topk: internal failure |
How mink works
mink(A,k)selects along the first non-singleton dimension and clamps nonnegativekto that dimension's length.k = 0returns an empty result along the selected dimension.mink(A,k,dim)selects along the specified dimension. Dimensions larger thanndims(A)behave like trailing singleton dimensions and return the input with index values of1.[B,I] = mink(...)returns selected values and one-based indices along the selected dimension.- Real, integer, logical, complex, scalar, vector, matrix, and N-D tensor inputs are supported. Integers and logical values are promoted to double precision.
- Complex inputs support
'ComparisonMethod','auto','abs'/'magnitude', and'real', matching the comparison options used bymin. - GPU tensors gather to the host for top-k selection and return host tensors.
Examples
Smallest values from each column
A = [3 2; 4 6; 1 5];
[B,I] = mink(A,2)Expected output:
B = [1 2; 3 5]
I = [3 1; 1 3]Smallest values along rows
A = [3 1 5; 4 2 6];
B = mink(A,2,2)Expected output:
B = [1 3; 2 4]Using mink with coding agents
Open a RunMat example with live inputs, then ask the agent to explain how mink changes the result.
Run a small mink example, explain the result, then change one input and compare the output.
FAQ
Does mink preserve GPU residency?⌄
Not currently. RunMat gathers GPU tensors to the host because top-k provider hooks are not available yet.
Can k be zero or larger than the selected dimension?⌄
Yes. k = 0 returns an empty result along the selected dimension. Larger values are clamped to the selected dimension length, so the full sorted slice is returned.
Related Math functions
Reduction
all · any · bounds · cummax · cummin · cumprod · cumsum · cumtrapz · diff · gradient · max · maxk · mean · median · min · movmax · movmean · movmedian · movmin · movprod · movstd · movsum · movvar · nnz · prod · rms · std · sum · trapz · var
Elementwise
abs · angle · bsxfun · complex · conj · double · erf · erfcinv · exp · expm1 · factorial · flintmax · gamma · gammaln · heaviside · hypot · idivide · imag · intmax · intmin · ldivide · log · log10 · log1p · log2 · minus · nextpow2 · plus · pow2 · power · rdivide · real · realmax · realmin · realsqrt · rescale · sign · single · sqrt · swapbytes · times · typecast · uint16 · uint32 · uint8
Trigonometry
acos · acosh · asin · asinh · atan · atan2 · atanh · cos · cosd · cosh · cospi · deg2rad · pol2cart · rad2deg · sin · sind · sinh · sinpi · tan · tand · tanh
Structure
bandwidth · isdiag · ishermitian · issymmetric · istril · istriu · symrcm
Signal
blackman · butter · buttord · cheb2ord · conv · conv2 · deconv · downsample · envelope · filter · filtfilt · fir1 · freqz · gauspuls · hamming · hann · hilbert · periodogram · pulstran · pwelch · rectpuls · resample · sawtooth · sinc · spectrogram · square · tripuls · unwrap · upsample · zplane
Optim
coneprog · fminbnd · fminunc · fsolve · fzero · integral · linprog · lsqcurvefit · lsqnonlin · optimoptions · optimset · quad · secondordercone
Ops
cross · ctranspose · dot · mldivide · mpower · mrdivide · mtimes · pagemtimes · pagetranspose · trace · transpose
Open-source implementation
Unlike proprietary runtimes, every RunMat function is open-source. Read exactly how mink is executed, line by line, in Rust.
- View the source for mink in Rust on GitHub
- Learn how the RunMat runtime works
- Found a bug? Open an issue with a minimal reproduction.
About RunMat
RunMat is an open-source runtime that executes MATLAB-syntax code blazing on any GPU. It is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.
- RunMat automatically optimizes your math for GPU execution on Apple, Nvidia, and AMD hardware. No code changes needed. Simulations that took hours now take minutes.
- Start running code in seconds. RunMat runs in the browser, on the desktop, or from the CLI. No license server, no IT ticket.