#!/bin/bash
function max () { apu=$1; for n in $@; do [[ $(echo $apu'>'$n | bc) -eq 0 ]] && apu=$n; done; echo $apu ;}; time a=(1 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9); max ${a[*]}  #a=3; b=2; c=1E1; max $a $b $c
