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Last
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Last

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Last[expr]

gives the last element in expr.

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Last[expr,def]

gives the last element if there are any elements, or def otherwise.

Details

  • Last[expr] is equivalent to expr[[-1]].
  • Last has attribute HoldRest. In Last[expr,def], def is evaluated only if it is to be returned.

Examples

open allclose all

Basic Examples  (5)Summary of the most common use cases

Extract the last element of a list:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-uuw
Out[1]=1

Extract the last row of a matrix:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-hnh
Out[1]=1

Extract the last element of an association:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-cchagp
Out[1]=1

The head need not be List:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-vh
Out[1]=1

Return x if there are zero elements:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-b608as
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-81keoj
Out[2]=2

Generalizations & Extensions  (1)Generalized and extended use cases

Last works on SparseArray objects:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-vh2
Out[1]=1

Properties & Relations  (1)Properties of the function, and connections to other functions

Last[expr] is equivalent to expr[[-1]]:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-qke
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-ghg
Out[2]=2

Possible Issues  (2)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior

The expression is evaluated before Last is applied:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-mfu
Out[1]=1

Last always operates on the FullForm of expressions:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-d0b
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0mrgoi-ib3
Wolfram Research (1988), Last, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html (updated 2015).
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Wolfram Research (1988), Last, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html (updated 2015).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Last, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html (updated 2015).

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Wolfram Research (1988), Last, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html (updated 2015).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Last." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2015. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html.

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Wolfram Language. 1988. "Last." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2015. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Last. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html

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Wolfram Language. (1988). Last. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_last, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Last}", year="2015", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html}", note=[Accessed: 24-March-2025 ]}

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@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_last, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Last}", year="2015", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html}", note=[Accessed: 24-March-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_last, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Last}, year={2015}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html}, note=[Accessed: 24-March-2025 ]}

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@online{reference.wolfram_2025_last, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Last}, year={2015}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Last.html}, note=[Accessed: 24-March-2025 ]}