Comparison operators

This page describes the available operators to assist with comparison operations.

If string or char values are used in the input, they are converted to int using the ASCII Table for comparison.

= (equal to)​

(value1) = (value2) - returns true if the two values are the same.

= can be used with > or <.

Arguments​

  • value1 is any data type.
  • value2 is any data type.

Return value​

Return value type is boolean.

Examples​


SELECT '5' = '5';
-- Returns true

SELECT 5 = 5;
-- Returns true

SELECT '5' = '3';
-- Returns false

SELECT 5 = 3;
-- Returns false

> (greater than) and < (less than)​

  • (value1) > (value2) - returns true if value1 is greater than value2.
  • (value1) < (value2) - returns true if value1 is less than value2.

Arguments​

  • value1 and value2 are one of the following data types:
    • any numeric data type
    • char
    • date
    • timestamp
    • symbol
    • string

Description​

> and < can be used in combination with = for the following comparison:

  • >= - greater than or equal to
  • <= - less than or equal to

Return value​

Return value type is boolean.

Examples​


SELECT 'abc' > 'def';
-- Returns false

SELECT '123' < '456';
-- Returns true

SELECT '5' > '5';
-- Returns false

SELECT '5' >= '5';
-- Returns true

SELECT 5 < 5;
-- Returns false

SELECT 5 <= 5;
-- Returns true

SELECT 'a' > 'b';
-- Returns false

SELECT 5 < 3;
-- Returns false

<\> or != (not equal to)​

(value1) <> (value2) - returns true if value1 is not equal to value2.

!= is an alias of <>.

Arguments​

  • value1 is any data type.
  • value2 is any data type.

Return value​

Return value type is boolean.

Examples​


SELECT '5' <> '5';
-- Returns false

SELECT 5 <> 5;
-- Returns false

SELECT 'a' <> 'b';
-- Returns true

SELECT 5 <> 3;
-- Returns true