PHP Comparison Operators

Comparison operators in PHP are used to compare two values. They return true or false based on the comparison result.

Operator Name Description Example
== Equal Returns true if values are equal. $a == $b
=== Identical Returns true if values and data types are equal. $a === $b
!= or <> Not Equal Returns true if values are not equal. $a != $b
!== Not Identical Returns true if values or data types are not equal. $a !== $b
> Greater Than Returns true if the left value is greater. $a > $b
< Less Than Returns true if the left value is smaller. $a < $b
>= Greater Than or Equal Returns true if the left value is greater or equal. $a >= $b
<= Less Than or Equal Returns true if the left value is smaller or equal. $a <= $b

1. Equal (==)

Checks if two values are equal.

<?php
    $a = 10;
    $b = "10";

    if ($a == $b) {
        echo "Equal";
    } else {
        echo "Not Equal";
    }
?>
    

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2. Identical (===)

Checks if two values and their types are the same.

<?php
    $a = 10;
    $b = "10";

    if ($a === $b) {
        echo "Identical";
    } else {
        echo "Not Identical";
    }
?>
    

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3. Not Equal (!=)

Checks if two values are not equal.

<?php
    $a = 10;
    $b = 20;

    if ($a != $b) {
        echo "Not Equal";
    } else {
        echo "Equal";
    }
?>
    

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4. Greater Than (>)

Checks if the left value is greater than the right value.

<?php
    $a = 15;
    $b = 10;

    if ($a > $b) {
        echo "$a is greater than $b";
    }
?>
    

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5. Less Than (<)

Checks if the left value is less than the right value.

<?php
    $a = 5;
    $b = 10;

    if ($a < $b) {
        echo "$a is less than $b";
    }
?>
    

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Conclusion

PHP comparison operators help evaluate conditions in decision-making. They return boolean values and are widely used in conditional statements like if and loops.