Generic algorithms

Implement a single function that takes two arguments and returns the bigger of the two. Assume you don't know the type of the  arguments and you don't know if the types can be compared. Assume that if a type can be compared, it will always be implemented by following a single standard. Use the latest standard of your language. Write the simplest program
that will pass an integer 1(one) and a float 1.1(one point one) into the function and write the result to standard output.

Post the compiler you used, the code and the result.
Write what will happen if the max function is called with broken syntax (I'm looking at you C macros).
Write what will happen if the objects of a type can't be compared.

I'll start with C and C++.
Compiler: gcc 4.3.2 20081105 (Red Hat 4.3.2-7)
#include <iostream>
template<class F>
F& max(F& a, F& b) { return (a < b) ? b : a; }
int main() { std::cout << max(1, 1.1) << '\n'; }
Results: Compile time error:
max.cpp: In function ‘int main()’:
max.cpp:6: error: no matching function for call to ‘max(int, double)’
Bad syntax: Standard compile-time error
No comparison: Standard compile-time error about undefined operator<

#define max(a, b) (less(a, b) ? b : a)
#include <stdio.h>
int less(int a, int b) { return a < b; }
int main() { printf("%f\n", max(1, 1.1)); }
Result: Bad output
1.000000
Bad syntax: Depends on the error in the syntax. Can either compile and cause undefined behaviour or fail at compile time with strange syntax errors.
No comparison: Standard compile-time error about an undefined function.

>>88

Awww, you had to use a common base type of the types, how Comp Sci 102. Its cute. You even implemented it like I said, in some unfounded attempt to disagree with me.

How about something where you compare 2 types that do not share the same base type in common, but do contain data that can be compared.

Such as, once again, in the simple example of comparing a datetime value to a string that contains data that is in the correct format for a datetime. We already saw how easy this is in .Net.

Make a generic function to compare niggers and people. The nigger class would not be derived from a class like Person or any other class that describes a human, of course. But they can be compared because niggers are always less than people. 3/5 as much (at most) if I remember correctly.