As a beginner in coding, one of the fundamental concepts you need to understand is how to use comparison operators in conditionals. Comparison operators (==, !=, <, >) are used to compare values or results of expressions. In this article, we will explore these operators and provide examples and exercises on how to use them in conditionals using the Python programming language.

Example 1: Equal To Operator (==)

The equal to operator (==) checks whether two values or expressions are equal. For example, if x == y, it returns True if both x and y have the same value. Otherwise, it returns False. Here's an example:

x = 5
y = 5
if x == y:
    print("x is equal to y")

In this example, the output will be "x is equal to y" because both x and y have the same value.

Now it's your turn! Try the following exercise:

Exercise 1:

Assign the value 10 to variable a and 20 to variable b. Write a conditional statement using the equal to operator to check if a is equal to b. If they are equal, print "a is equal to b", otherwise print "a is not equal to b".

Example 2: Not Equal To Operator (!=)

The not equal to operator (!=) checks if two values or expressions are not equal. If x != y, it returns True if both x and y have different values. Otherwise, it returns False. Here's an example:

x = 5
y = 6
if x != y:
    print("x is not equal to y")

In this example, the output will be "x is not equal to y" because x and y have different values.

Now it's your turn! Try the following exercise:

Exercise 2:

Assign the value 10 to variable a and 20 to variable b. Write a conditional statement using the not equal to operator to check if a is not equal to b. If they are not equal, print "a is not equal to b", otherwise print "a is equal to b".

Example 3: Less Than Operator (<) and Greater Than Operator (>)

The less than (<) and greater than (>) operators are used to compare numerical values. They return True if the left operand is less than or greater than the right operand. Here are some examples:

x = 5
y = 6
if x < y:
    print("x is less than y")

if y > x:
    print("y is greater than x")

In the first example, the output will be "x is less than y" because 5 is less than 6. In the second example, the output will be "y is greater than x" because 6 is greater than 5.

Now it's your turn! Try the following exercise:

Exercise 3:

Assign the value 10 to variable a and 20 to variable b. Write two conditional statements using the less than and greater than operators to check if a is less than b and if a is greater than b. If a is less than b, print "a is less than b". If a is greater than b, print "a is greater than b". Otherwise, print "a is equal to b".

Example 4: Comparison Operators with Strings

Comparison operators can also be used with strings. When used on strings, they compare the ASCII value of each character in the string. For example:

string1 = "apple"
string2 = "banana"
if string1 < string2:
    print("string1 comes before string2 in alphabetical order")

In this example, the output will be "string1 comes before string2 in alphabetical order" because 'a' in "apple" has a lower ASCII value than 'b' in "banana".

Now it's your turn! Try the following exercise:

Exercise 4:

Assign the value "Python" to variable a and "Java" to variable b. Write a conditional statement using the less than operator to check which string comes first in alphabetical order. If a comes before b, print "Python comes before Java". Otherwise, print "Java comes before Python".

In conclusion, comparison operators are an essential part of programming. They help us compare values and make decisions based on those comparisons. By using the examples and exercises above, you can start using comparison operators in your code and build