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Python | cmp() function

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cmp() method in Python 2.x compares two integers and returns -1, 0, 1 according to comparison. cmp() does not work in python 3.x. You might want to see list comparison in Python.

Note
The cmp function was a built-in function in Python 2 for comparing the values of two objects. 
It has been removed in Python 3 and replaced with the == and is operators, which provide more robust and flexible comparison functionality.

Syntax:
cmp(a, b)
Parameters:
a and b are the two numbers in which the comparison is being done. 
Returns:
-1 if a<b

0 if a=b

1 if a>b

Python




# Python program to demonstrate the
# use of cmp() method
 
# when a<b
a = 1
b = 2
print(cmp(a, b)) 
 
# when a = b
a = 2
b = 2
print(cmp(a, b)) 
 
# when a>b
a = 3
b = 2
print(cmp(a, b))


Output:

-1
0 
1

Practical Application: Program to check if a number is even or odd using cmp function. Approach: Compare 0 and n%2, if it returns 0, then it is even, else its odd. Below is the Python implementation of the above program: 

Python




# Python program to check if a number is 
# odd or even using cmp function 
   
# check 12 
n = 12
if cmp(0, n % 2): 
    print"odd"
else:
    print"even"
       
# check 13    
n = 13
if cmp(0, n % 2): 
    print"odd"
else:
    print"even"


Output:

even
odd


Last Updated : 10 Jan, 2023
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