PHP Comparison Operators

PHP Comparison Operators – Compare Values in PHP

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.