Final answer:
The MIN function is used to return the smallest value in a set and works with numeric, date, and character columns, with characters evaluated based on alphabetical order according to collation rules.
Step-by-step explanation:
The MIN function is commonly used in SQL and other programming languages to return the smallest value from a set of values for numeric, date, and even character columns. When applied to character columns, MIN will return the smallest value based on the collation rules of the character set, which is typically the value that would appear first in alphabetical order. When used with numeric and date columns, it simply returns the smallest numeric value or the earliest date, respectively.