JavaScript Relational Operators

JavaScript Relational Operators – Compare Values in JS

JavaScript Relational Operators are used to compare two values. These operators return a boolean value (true or false) based on the relationship between the operands.

List of Relational Operators:

1. Equal to (==)

The Equal to operator compares two values for equality, performing type conversion if necessary.

Example:

console.log(5 == '5'); // true (type conversion occurs)
console.log(5 == 5);   // true
console.log(5 == 6);   // false

2. Not Equal to (!=)

The Not Equal to operator checks if two values are not equal, performing type conversion if necessary.

Example:

console.log(5 != '5'); // false (type conversion occurs)
console.log(5 != 6);   // true

3. Strict Equal to (===)

The Strict Equal to operator checks for equality without performing type conversion. Both the value and type must be the same.

Example:

console.log(5 === '5'); // false (different types)
console.log(5 === 5);   // true

4. Strict Not Equal to (!==)

The Strict Not Equal to operator checks if two values are not equal and ensures that their types are not the same.

Example:

console.log(5 !== '5'); // true (different types)
console.log(5 !== 5);   // false

5. Greater than (>)

The Greater than operator checks if the left operand is greater than the right operand.

Example:

console.log(5 > 3); // true
console.log(3 > 5); // false

6. Less than (<)

The Less than operator checks if the left operand is less than the right operand.

Example:

console.log(5 < 3); // false
console.log(3 < 5); // true

7. Greater than or Equal to (>=)

The Greater than or Equal to operator checks if the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand.

Example:

console.log(5 >= 5); // true
console.log(5 >= 3); // true

8. Less than or Equal to (<=)

The Less than or Equal to operator checks if the left operand is less than or equal to the right operand.

Example:

console.log(5 <= 5); // true
console.log(3 <= 5); // true

Type Coercion in Relational Operators:

• == and !=: These operators perform type coercion. For example, a string "5" is considered equal to a number 5.
• === and !==: These operators do not perform type coercion. The comparison considers both the value and type.

Comparing Strings:

When comparing strings, JavaScript compares their Unicode values character by character.

Example:

console.log('apple' > 'banana'); // false
console.log('apple' < 'banana'); // true

Comparing Different Types:

JavaScript converts the operands to the same type when using non-strict comparison operators (== and !=).

Example:

console.log(5 == '5');  // true
console.log(5 === '5'); // false
console.log(5 > '3');   // true

Summary:

• == and !=: Allow type conversion.
• === and !==: Strict comparison, no type conversion.
• >, <, >=, <=: Used for numerical and string comparisons.
• Always use === and !== for stricter comparison to avoid unexpected results due to type coercion.