Relational operators in Java

Introduction

Relational operators help us compare two values to see how they relate to each other, like if one is bigger or smaller.

Checking if a student's score is above the passing mark.

Deciding if a person is old enough to vote.

Comparing prices to find the cheaper product.

Determining if a number is equal to another number.

Finding out if a temperature is below freezing.

Syntax

Java

value1 < value2
value1 <= value2
value1 > value2
value1 >= value2
value1 == value2
value1 != value2

Use == to check if two values are equal.

Use != to check if two values are not equal.

Examples

This checks if a is less than b. The result will be true.

Java

int a = 5;
int b = 10;
boolean result = a < b;

This checks if age is at least 18 to allow voting.

Java

int age = 18;
boolean canVote = age >= 18;

This checks if x and y are equal.

Java

int x = 7;
int y = 7;
boolean equal = x == y;

This checks if temp is not zero (not freezing).

Java

int temp = 30;
boolean notFreezing = temp != 0;

Sample Program

This program compares the student's score with the passing score using relational operators and prints the results.

Java

public class RelationalOperatorsDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int score = 75;
        int passingScore = 60;

        System.out.println("Score: " + score);
        System.out.println("Passing Score: " + passingScore);

        System.out.println("Did the student pass? " + (score >= passingScore));
        System.out.println("Is the score less than 50? " + (score < 50));
        System.out.println("Is the score equal to 75? " + (score == 75));
        System.out.println("Is the score not equal to 100? " + (score != 100));
    }
}

Important Notes

Relational operators always return a boolean value: true or false.

Use parentheses to make complex comparisons clear.

Summary

Relational operators compare two values and return true or false.

They include <, <=, >, >=, ==, and !=.

They are useful for making decisions in programs.