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Add MemoryExtensions.Min/Max#128306

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manandre:span-min-max
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Add MemoryExtensions.Min/Max#128306
manandre wants to merge 6 commits into
dotnet:mainfrom
manandre:span-min-max

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This pull request adds new Min and Max extension methods for ReadOnlySpan<T> to the System.Memory library, allowing users to efficiently find the minimum and maximum values in a span, optionally using a custom comparer. Comprehensive unit tests are included to verify correct behavior for various data types and edge cases.

New Min and Max methods for ReadOnlySpan<T>:

  • Added Min<T> and Max<T> extension methods to MemoryExtensions for ReadOnlySpan<T>, supporting both default and custom comparers, and handling nullable and reference types gracefully. These methods throw an exception on empty spans of non-nullable value types and return null for empty spans of reference or nullable types. [1] [2]

Unit tests:

  • Introduced comprehensive tests in ReadOnlySpan/MinMax.cs to cover empty spans, all-null values, custom comparers, and typical scenarios for both value and reference types.
  • Registered the new test file in the project file System.Memory.Tests.csproj to ensure the tests are run as part of the test suite.

Fixes #127083

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 17, 2026 21:55
@dotnet-policy-service dotnet-policy-service Bot added the community-contribution Indicates that the PR has been added by a community member label May 17, 2026
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Tagging subscribers to this area: @dotnet/area-system-memory
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Pull request overview

Note

Copilot was unable to run its full agentic suite in this review.

Adds Min and Max extension methods on ReadOnlySpan<T> (with optional IComparer<T>), mirroring LINQ's Enumerable.Min/Max semantics for spans. Includes ref assembly updates and tests.

Changes:

  • New Min/Max ReadOnlySpan extension methods with empty-span and null-element handling.
  • Reference assembly exposes the four new API overloads.
  • New test file covering empty, all-null, mixed-null, default comparer, and custom comparer scenarios.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

File Description
src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/MemoryExtensions.cs Implements Min/Max with a generic comparer fast path and null-skipping inner core.
src/libraries/System.Memory/ref/System.Memory.cs Adds public surface for the four new overloads.
src/libraries/System.Memory/tests/System.Memory.Tests.csproj Includes the new test file.
src/libraries/System.Memory/tests/ReadOnlySpan/MinMax.cs Tests for empty/null/normal/custom-comparer behaviors.

Comment thread src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/MemoryExtensions.cs Outdated
/// <param name="comparer">The <see cref="IComparer{T}"/> to compare values.</param>
/// <returns>The minimum value in the span.</returns>
/// <exception cref="InvalidOperationException"><paramref name="span"/> is empty and <typeparamref name="T"/> is a non-nullable value type.</exception>
public static T? Min<T>(this ReadOnlySpan<T> span, IComparer<T> comparer)
Comment on lines +4367 to +4368
T next = span[i];
if (next is not null && comparer.Compare(next, value) < 0)
Comment on lines +4350 to +4351
static T? MinCore<TComparer>(ReadOnlySpan<T> span, TComparer comparer)
where TComparer : IComparer<T>
Comment thread src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/MemoryExtensions.cs Outdated
Comment on lines +77 to +80
public static void MinMax_CustomComparer_IsUsed()
{
ReadOnlySpan<int> ints = new int[] { 4, -1, 7, 2 };
IComparer<int> reverse = Comparer<int>.Create((left, right) => right.CompareTo(left));
Comment on lines +234 to 237
public static T? Max<T>(this System.ReadOnlySpan<T> span, System.Collections.Generic.IComparer<T> comparer) { throw null; }
public static T? Min<T>(this System.ReadOnlySpan<T> span) { throw null; }
public static T? Min<T>(this System.ReadOnlySpan<T> span, System.Collections.Generic.IComparer<T> comparer) { throw null; }
[System.Runtime.CompilerServices.OverloadResolutionPriorityAttribute(-1)]
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This remark makes sense.
However this is not part of the approved API.
@tannergooding @bartonjs How should we handle such an update?

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The remark is largely incorrect. The other APIs are there for historical reasons and are not necessary for modern .NET due to the 1st class spans feature.

We intentionally did not expose the span APIs here accordingly.

/// <typeparam name="T">The type of the elements in the span.</typeparam>
/// <param name="span">The span of values to determine the minimum value of.</param>
/// <returns>The minimum value in the span.</returns>
/// <exception cref="InvalidOperationException"><paramref name="span"/> is empty and <typeparamref name="T"/> is a non-nullable value type.</exception>
@MihaZupan
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Enumerable's Min/Max already have vectorized logic implementing this. We should move that logic into these new methods, then switch LINQ to call them instead

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 18, 2026 22:00
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Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

Comment thread src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/Resources/Strings.resx Outdated
Comment thread src/libraries/System.Private.CoreLib/src/System/MemoryExtensions.cs
Comment on lines +4323 to +4325
public static T? Min<T>(this ReadOnlySpan<T> span) =>
Min(span, Comparer<T>.Default);

Comment on lines +4349 to +4368
T? value = span[0];
int i = 1;

while (value is null)
{
if ((uint)i >= (uint)span.Length)
{
return value;
}
value = span[i++];
}

for (; (uint)i < (uint)span.Length; i++)
{
T next = span[i];
if (next is not null && comparer.Compare(next, value) < 0)
{
value = next;
}
}
/// <typeparam name="T">The type of the elements in the span.</typeparam>
/// <param name="span">The span of values to determine the minimum value of.</param>
/// <returns>The minimum value in the span.</returns>
/// <exception cref="InvalidOperationException"><paramref name="span"/> is empty and <typeparamref name="T"/> is a non-nullable value type.</exception>
Comment on lines +234 to 237
public static T? Max<T>(this System.ReadOnlySpan<T> span, System.Collections.Generic.IComparer<T> comparer) { throw null; }
public static T? Min<T>(this System.ReadOnlySpan<T> span) { throw null; }
public static T? Min<T>(this System.ReadOnlySpan<T> span, System.Collections.Generic.IComparer<T> comparer) { throw null; }
[System.Runtime.CompilerServices.OverloadResolutionPriorityAttribute(-1)]
Comment on lines +16 to +17
TestHelpers.AssertThrows<InvalidOperationException, int>(span, (_span) => _span.Min());
TestHelpers.AssertThrows<InvalidOperationException, int>(span, (_span) => _span.Max());
Comment thread src/libraries/System.Memory/tests/ReadOnlySpan/MinMax.cs
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 18, 2026 22:55
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Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 7 comments.

Comment on lines +4328 to +4330
public static T? Min<T>(this ReadOnlySpan<T> span) =>
Min(span, Comparer<T>.Default);

Comment on lines +4371 to +4378
for (; (uint)i < (uint)span.Length; i++)
{
T next = span[i];
if (next is not null && comparer.Compare(next, value) < 0)
{
value = next;
}
}
Comment on lines +4322 to +4323
/// <remarks>
/// <para>If type <typeparamref name="T" /> implements <see cref="System.IComparable{T}" />, the <see cref="Min{T}(ReadOnlySpan{T})" /> method uses that implementation to compare values. Otherwise, if type <typeparamref name="T" /> implements <see cref="System.IComparable" />, that implementation is used to compare values.</para>
Comment on lines +4329 to +4347
Min(span, Comparer<T>.Default);

/// <summary>
/// Returns the minimum value in the span.
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T">The type of the elements in the span.</typeparam>
/// <param name="span">The span of values to determine the minimum value of.</param>
/// <param name="comparer">The <see cref="IComparer{T}"/> to compare values.</param>
/// <returns>The minimum value in the span.</returns>
/// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException"><paramref name="comparer"/> is <see langword="null"/>.</exception>
/// <exception cref="InvalidOperationException"><paramref name="span"/> is empty and <typeparamref name="T"/> is a non-nullable value type.</exception>
/// <remarks>
/// <para>If <typeparamref name="T" /> is a reference type and the span sequence is empty, this method returns <see langword="null" />.</para>
/// <para>Null values are ignored when determining the minimum value. If the span contains at least one non-null value, the minimum of those values is returned. If the span does not contain any non-null values, <see langword="null" /> is returned.</para>
/// </remarks>
public static T? Min<T>(this ReadOnlySpan<T> span, IComparer<T> comparer)
{
if (comparer is null)
ThrowHelper.ThrowArgumentNullException(ExceptionArgument.comparer);
Comment on lines +67 to +68
[Fact]
public static void MinMax_DefaultComparer_ProducesExpectedValues()
{
ReadOnlySpan<int> span = ReadOnlySpan<int>.Empty;

TestHelpers.AssertThrows<InvalidOperationException, int>(span, (_span) => _span.Min());
Comment on lines +4328 to +4329
public static T? Min<T>(this ReadOnlySpan<T> span) =>
Min(span, Comparer<T>.Default);
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[API Proposal]: MemoryExtensions.Min/Max

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