C++ Relational Operators

In C++ programming language, we sometimes require to compare values and expressions. This comparison allows us to determine relationships, make decisions, and control the flow of our programs. The relational operators in C++ provide the means to compare values and evaluate conditions.

In this article, we will learn about C++ relational operators and understand their significance in making logical comparisons in code.

Relational Operators in C++

C++ Relational operators are used to compare two values or expressions, and based on this comparison, it returns a boolean value (either true or false) as the result. Generally false is represented as 0 and true is represented as any non-zero value (mostly 1).

How to use Relational Operator?

All C++ relational operators are binary operators that are used with two operands as shown:

operand1   relational_operator  operand2
expression1   relational_operator  expression2

Types of C++ Relational Operators

We have six relational operators in C++ which are explained below with examples.

S. No.	Relational Operator	Meaning
1.	>	Greater than
2.	<	Less than
3.	>=	Greater than equal to
4.	<=	Less than equal to
5.	==	Equal to
6.	!=	Not equal to

1. Greater than ( > )

The greater than ( > ) operator checks if the left operand is greater than the right operand. It returns true if the condition is met and false otherwise.

Example:

29 > 21 // returns true
12 > 12 // return false
10 > 57 // return false

2. Less than ( < )

The less than ( < ) operator checks if the left operand is less than the right operand. It returns true if the condition is met and false otherwise.

Example:

2 < 21 // returns true
12 < 12 // return false
12 < 5 // return false

3. Greater than or equal to ( >= )

The greater than or equal to ( >= ) operator checks if the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand. It returns true if the condition is met and false otherwise.

Example:

29 >= 21 // returns true 
12 >= 12 // return true 
10 >= 58 // return false

4. Less than or equal to ( <= )

The less than or equal to ( <= ) operator checks if the left operand is less than or equal to the right operand. It returns true if the condition is met and false otherwise.

Example:

2 <= 21 // returns true 
12 <= 12 // return true 
12 <= 5 // return false

5. Equal to ( == )

The equal to ( == ) operator checks if two values are equal. It returns true if the values are equal and false otherwise.

Example:

9 == 9 // returns true 
19 == 12 // return false

6. Not equal to ( != )

The not equal to (  !=  ) operator checks if two values are not equal. It returns true if the values are different and false if they are equal.

Example:

12 != 21 // returns true
12 != 12 // return false

Example of C++ Relational Operators

In the below code, we have defined two variables with some integer value and we have printed the output by comparing them using relational operators in C++. In the output, we get 1, 0, 0, 0, and 1 where 0 means false and 1 means true.

C++

// C++ Program to illustrate the relational operators
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    // variables for comparison
    int a = 10;
    int b = 6;

    // greater than
    cout << "a > b = " << (a > b) << endl;

    // less than
    cout << "a < b = " << (a < b) << endl;

    // equal to
    cout << "a == b = " << (a == b) << endl;

    // not equal to
    cout << "a != b = " << (a != b) << endl;

    return 0;
}

Output

a > b = 1
a < b = 0
a == b = 0
a != b = 1