mink

mink(matrix: any[] | Mat, k: number, dim: number) : any[] | Mat

param matrix - the list, Array, or Mat to find the k smallest elements of

param k - the number of smallest elements we want to find. For example, k=2 will return an Array of the rows/columns of the 2 smallest numbers. (in the direction of dim)

param dim '1' | '2' - the direction you want to find the smallest elements for 2-D matrices. Default is dim=1. dim=1 means column and dim=2 means row. This is needed because the user may want to differentiate rows and columns, and only find the smallest say, 2, elements in a 3x3 matrix in the direction of columns only.

returns: any[] | Mat - If 'A' is a matrix, it will return a matrix whose columns or rows contain the k smallest elements of each columns or rows of A (based on the parameter dim), returned as a Mat. If it is a list, it'll return a list containing the k smallest elements of that list.

This function effectively returns the k smallest elements in the form of an Array (or list for the list case). And for a matrix, you have to provide it a dimension (default is dim = 1, column), it will return the k smallest elements in each column of A, as a new matrix. It's similar to min() where it returns the smallest values, but can returns more now, specified by the parameter k.

Here is an example to clarify: