What does < or > mean in python while comparing strings

Question

I have written this code in python 3.5

x="absx"
o="abcdef"

and if i am doing this operation,

x<o
False   #it return's False and i think it should return True

So what is '<' doing in case of strings and why is it not returning true. how is it comparing x and o?

Strings are compared by the order they would appear in a regular dictionary. Your `o` string would be before your `x` string in a dictionary, so `o < x` is True. See [Lexicographical order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexicographical_order). — PM 2Ring, Oct 14 '16 at 14:17

Anshul Goyal · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-14T14:20:54.030

3

The < or > would result in lexicographic comparison of the two strings:

>>> x="absx"
>>> o="abcdef"
>>> x > o
True

Lexicographic ordering is same as dictionary ordering, and basically, the operators are checking for which string would come earlier (or later) in a dictionary order. The behavior is same for both Python 2 and 3.

The final result does not depend on the size of the string, Example:

>>> "a" < "aaaaa" 
True

In example above "a" would come before "aaaaa" when written in dictionary order. To compare by length of strings, use the len() function on the strings.

edited Oct 14 '16 at 14:20

answered Oct 14 '16 at 14:16

Anshul Goyal

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So it does not depend on the size of the string. – Cedric Zoppolo Oct 14 '16 at 14:20
@Cedric The result is independent of size of strings, yes. – Anshul Goyal Oct 14 '16 at 14:24
' "absx"<"abcdef" ' returns false and ' "abcdef" > "absx" ' returns false. – Iamstr1ng Oct 14 '16 at 14:35

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 14 '16 at 14:17

0

Lexicographic comparison. In your case o would come after x.

answered Oct 14 '16 at 14:17

Just Rudy

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What does < or > mean in python while comparing strings

2 Answers2