Comparison operators compare either integer or string expressions, and return true or false depending if the comparison is true or false. The comparison operators are:
> |
greater than |
>= |
greater or equal |
< |
less than |
<= |
less than or equal |
<> |
not equal (ie. different) |
These operate slightly differently depending on the type of arguments used. The meaning of the above operators for integers is obvious:
4 > 3
4 <> 3
4 >= 3
When used on string arguments, a > b is taken to mean that a contains b, and a < b means that a is contained in b.
'Nov' < 'November'
'Nov' <= 'November'
'Nov' <> 'November'
'November' > 'Nov'
When operating on strings, the comparison is case-sensitive.
'Nov' <> 'nov' // neither of the 2 contains the other
Note that, although the above can operate on either integers or strings, in a given expression, all arguments must be of the same type. The following expression is invalid :
'8' < 9 // mismatched data types !!!
Finally, to improve legibility it is customary, but not necessary, to enclose the comparison expression in parentheses.
Topic 122400, last updated on 18-Apr-2020
