`<argMax>`

The index of the largest value in a list

<argMax> is a General Operator component that renders the index of the largest of its arguments rather than the value itself, so the position can be used to look up the matching entry of a different list — which is what makes it more useful than <max> alone. Indices start at 1, ties resolve to the first occurrence, and an empty list gives 0.

Attributes and Properties

Attributes for `<argMax>`

Highlighted (1)

type

keyword. Component type to interpret bare string children as. Omit it and they are read as what they look like: every piece naming a number makes the list numeric, anything else makes it text.

Value	Description
`number`	Read bare strings as numbers, ordered by value.
`math`	Read bare strings as math expressions, ordered by value.
`text`	Read bare strings as text, ordered alphabetically.
`boolean`	Read bare strings as booleans, ordered with false before true.

Number display (5)

avoidScientificNotation

boolean. Default value: false. Whether to render numbers in full decimal form rather than scientific notation.

displayDecimals

integer. Default value: 2. Number of decimal places to display when rendering this number.

displayDigits

integer. Default value: 3. Number of significant digits to display when rendering this number.

displaySmallAsZero

number. Default value: 1e-14. Threshold below which numbers are displayed as zero.

padZeros

boolean. Default value: false. Whether to pad displayed numbers with trailing zeros to fill the requested digits/decimals.

Positioning (2)

anchor

point. Default value: $\left( 0, 0 \right)$. Coordinates of the anchor point used to position this component on a graph.

positionFromAnchor

keyword. Where this component sits relative to its anchor point.

Value	Description
`upperRight`	Place the component above and to the right of the anchor point.
`upperLeft`	Place the component above and to the left of the anchor point.
`lowerRight`	Place the component below and to the right of the anchor point.
`lowerLeft`	Place the component below and to the left of the anchor point.
`top`	Place the component directly above the anchor point.
`bottom`	Place the component directly below the anchor point.
`left`	Place the component directly to the left of the anchor point.
`right`	Place the component directly to the right of the anchor point.
`center` (default)	Center the component on the anchor point.

Other (15)

assumptions

math. Default value: $＿$. Assumptions applied when simplifying or comparing.

createIntervals

boolean. Default value: false. Whether range expressions are interpreted as intervals.

createVectors

boolean. Default value: false. Whether tuple-like expressions are interpreted as vectors.

displayBlanks

boolean. Default value: true. Whether blanks (placeholders) are visibly rendered.

draggable

boolean. Default value: true. Whether the math component can be dragged on a graph.

expand

boolean. Default value: false. Whether to expand the expression.

format

keyword. Input format.

Value	Description
`text` (default)	Plain-text math notation (e.g., `x^2 + 1`).
`latex`	LaTeX-formatted math (e.g., `x^{2} + 1`).

functionSymbols

textList. Default value: ["f","g"]. Symbols treated as function names when parsing.

layer

number. Default value: 0. Z-order layer index when shown on a graph.

parseScientificNotation

boolean. Default value: false. Whether to parse expressions like 1e3 as scientific notation.

referencesAreFunctionSymbols

reference. References whose names should be treated as function symbols when parsing.

renderMode

keyword. How the math is rendered.

Value	Description
`inline` (default)	Render inline with the surrounding text.
`display`	Render as a centered equation on its own line.

simplify

keyword. Level of simplification applied to the expression.

Value	Description
`none` (default)	No simplification is applied.
`full`	Fully simplify the expression.
`numbers`	Simplify numeric subexpressions only, leaving symbolic structure intact.
`numbersPreserveOrder`	Like `numbers`, but does not reorder commutative operands.
`normalizeOrder`	Reorder commutative operands into a canonical form without simplifying values.

splitSymbols

boolean. Default value: true. Whether multi-character symbols are split into a product of variables.

unordered

boolean. Whether tuple- or list-like math expressions should be treated as unordered for comparison.

Common to all components (9)

copy

reference. Create an independent copy of another component by reference. Enter a references a $name.

disabled

boolean. Default value: false. Whether this component is disabled and cannot be interacted with.

extend

reference. Extend another component by reference, inheriting its children and attributes. Enter a reference as $name.

fixed

boolean. Default value: false. Whether this component's value is fixed and cannot be modified.

fixLocation

boolean. Default value: false. Whether this component's location is fixed (preventing it from being moved while still allowing other modifications).

hide

boolean. Default value: false. Whether to hide this component from the rendered output.

isResponse

boolean. Default value: false. Whether this component is treated as a response for the purposes of assessment.

name

text. The name used to reference this component from elsewhere in the document.

styleNumber

integer. Default value: 1. The style number used to select this component's visual styling from the available style definitions.

Properties for `<argMax name="a">`

Highlighted (1)

$a.value

argMax. The 1-based index the operator found, or 0 if there is none.

Number display (5)

$a.avoidScientificNotation

boolean. Whether to render numbers in full decimal form rather than scientific notation.

$a.displayDecimals

integer. Number of decimal places to display when rendering this number.

$a.displayDigits

integer. Number of significant digits to display when rendering this number.

$a.displaySmallAsZero

number. Threshold below which numbers are displayed as zero.

$a.padZeros

boolean. Whether to pad displayed numbers with trailing zeros to fill the requested digits/decimals.

Positioning (2)

$a.anchor

point. The coordinates where this component is anchored on the graph.

$a.positionFromAnchor

text. Where this component sits relative to its anchor point.

Other (38)

$a.assumptions

math. Assumptions applied when simplifying or comparing.

$a.backgroundColor

text. Human-readable name for this component's background color, derived from the active style and theme.

$a.columns

[ math ]. The matrix's entries grouped by column.

$a.createIntervals

boolean. Whether range expressions are interpreted as intervals.

$a.createVectors

boolean. Whether tuple-like expressions are interpreted as vectors.

$a.disabled

boolean. Whether this component is disabled and cannot be interacted with.

$a.displayBlanks

boolean. Whether blanks (placeholders) are visibly rendered.

$a.draggable

boolean. Whether the math component can be dragged on a graph.

$a.expand

boolean. Whether to expand the expression.

$a.fixed

boolean. Whether this component's value is fixed and cannot be modified.

$a.fixLocation

boolean. Whether this component's location is fixed (preventing it from being moved while still allowing other modifications).

$a.format

text. Input format.

$a.functionSymbols

textList. Symbols treated as function names when parsing.

$a.hidden

boolean. Whether this component is hidden from the rendered output.

$a.isNumber

boolean. Whether the expression evaluates to a finite number.

$a.isNumeric

boolean. Whether the expression evaluates to any number (including infinities).

$a.latex

latex. The expression rendered as a LaTeX string.

$a.layer

number. Z-order layer index when shown on a graph.

$a.list

[ math ]. The math expression interpreted as a list (its elements).

$a.matrix

[ math ]. The math expression interpreted as a matrix (its entries by row and column).

$a.matrixSize

numberList. The size of the math expression as a matrix, as a [numRows, numColumns] list.

$a.number

number. The numeric value of the expression (NaN if not a number).

$a.numColumns

integer. The number of columns when the math expression is interpreted as a matrix.

$a.numDimensions

integer. The number of dimensions if the math expression is interpreted as a vector or matrix.

$a.numListItems

integer. The number of items when the math expression is interpreted as a list.

$a.numRows

integer. The number of rows when the math expression is interpreted as a matrix.

$a.parseScientificNotation

boolean. Whether to parse expressions like 1e3 as scientific notation.

$a.renderMode

text. How the math is rendered.

$a.rows

[ math ]. The matrix's entries grouped by row.

$a.simplify

text. Level of simplification applied to the expression.

$a.splitSymbols

boolean. Whether multi-character symbols are split into a product of variables.

$a.text

text. The expression rendered as a plain text string.

$a.textColor

text. Human-readable name for this component's text color, derived from the active style and theme.

$a.textStyleDescription

text. Human-readable description of this component's text styling (color and any background color).

$a.vector

[ math ]. The math expression interpreted as a vector (its components).

$a.x

math. The first component of the math expression when interpreted as a vector.

$a.y

math. The second component of the math expression when interpreted as a vector.

$a.z

math. The third component of the math expression when interpreted as a vector.

Common to all components (4)

$a.doenetML

text. The DoenetML source code that produced this component.

$a.hide

boolean. Whether to hide this component from the rendered output.

$a.isResponse

boolean. Whether this component is treated as a response for the purposes of assessment.

$a.styleNumber

integer. The style number used to select this component's visual styling from the available style definitions.

Examples

Example: the position of the largest value

Example: who scored highest

The index from <argMax> indexes into the parallel list of names.

Example: responding to user input

The index updates as the values change.

Example: alphabetically last

On text, “largest” means alphabetically last.

answer (Advanced Use)argMin

<argMax>