---

id: 74

slug: "math-clamp"

title: "Math.clamp()"

category: "datetime"

difficulty: "beginner"

jdkVersion: "21"

oldLabel: "Java 8"

modernLabel: "Java 21+"

oldApproach: "Nested min/max"

modernApproach: "Math.clamp()"

oldCode: |-

// Clamp value between min and max

int clamped =

Math.min(Math.max(value, 0), 100);

// or: min and max order confusion

modernCode: |-

int clamped =

Math.clamp(value, 0, 100);

// value constrained to [0, 100]

summary: "Clamp a value between bounds with a single clear call."

explanation: "Math.clamp(value, min, max) constrains a value to the range [min, max].\

\ Clearer than nested Math.min/Math.max and available for int, long, float, and\

\ double."

whyModernWins:

- icon: "📖"

title: "Self-documenting"

desc: "clamp(value, min, max) is unambiguous."

- icon: "🛡️"

title: "Less error-prone"

desc: "No more swapping min/max order by accident."

- icon: "🎯"

title: "All numeric types"

desc: "Works with int, long, float, and double."

support:

state: "available"

description: "Widely available since JDK 21 LTS (Sept 2023)"

prev: "datetime/instant-precision"

next: "datetime/hex-format"

related:

- "datetime/instant-precision"

- "datetime/hex-format"

- "datetime/duration-and-period"

docs:

- title: "Math.clamp()"

href: "https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/25/docs/api/java.base/java/lang/Math.html#clamp(long,int,int)"