AP® Computer Science A glossary

Relational operators

Also called: comparison operators

Course: AP® Computer Science A Shows up in: Unit 2: Selection and Iteration

The operators ==, !=, <, >, <= and >=, which compare two values and evaluate to a Boolean value.

Appears in the course and exam description (CED): 2.2.A.12.2.A.22.2.A.3

<, >, <= and >= compare numeric values. == and != check whether two values are the same: with primitive types they compare the values, and with reference types they compare the object references.

System.out.println(7 / 2 > 3);
System.out.println(5 != 4);

Output:

false
true

Related terms

• Boolean expression
• Reference equality (== versus equals)
• Primitive type
• Reference type