Python Comparison Operators

Satellite · Operators

Python Comparison Operators

Operators that return Booleans feed your control flow. Understand how Python compares numbers, strings, containers, and custom objects.

Review equalityUnderstand identity

Equality vs inequality

users_a = ["amy", "jo"]
users_b = ["amy", "jo"]

users_a == users_b  # True
users_a != users_b  # False

== compares values; override __eq__ on classes to customize behavior.

Ordering

<, >, <=, >= work on comparable types (numbers, strings). Strings compare lexicographically.

Identity

a = []
b = []
a is b  # False
a is a  # True

Use is only for singletons like None or Ellipsis.

Membership

"py" in "python"           # True
42 in {40, 41, 42}         # True
"id" in {"id": 1}          # True (checks keys)

Chained comparisons

0 < score <= 100 is equivalent to 0 < score and score <= 100. Python evaluates once per operand, making chained comparisons efficient and clean.

Next up in your learning path

Identity vs equality

Prevent subtle bugs when comparing objects.

Companion

Control flow practice

Use comparisons inside conditionals.

Practice

Type hints

Document return types for comparator methods.

Advanced