ymin

ymin is a conventional symbol used to denote the minimum value of y in a dataset, function, or coordinate system. It is commonly encountered in mathematics, statistics, and data visualization as a shorthand for the lower bound of y.

In mathematics and optimization: ymin denotes the smallest y-value attained by a function on a given domain, i.e., y_min = min{ f(x) : x ∈ D }. If the minimum is not attained but approached, it is described as the infimum. The corresponding x that attains it is the argmin.

In plotting and visualization: ymin is often used as a parameter to set the lower limit of the y-axis, as in commands that specify axis ranges or limits. It can also refer to the smallest y observed in a data series.

In computer graphics and image processing: coordinate systems may define the origin at the top-left, with y increasing downward; here ymin corresponds to the top edge of an image, the smallest numeric y-value. Understanding ymin helps in clipping, rendering, and bounding boxes.

In programming and data analysis: ymin is commonly written as ymin or y_min depending on the language or style guide, and it serves as a variable name indicating a lower bound or the minimum y-coordinate encountered in computations. See also min, argmin, y_min, ylim.