Greater than or less than

x > y
x < y

These operators compare two types of values, they’re the less than and greater than operators. For numbers this simply compares the numerical values to see which is larger:

12 > 4
# True
12 < 4
# False
1 < 4
# True

For strings they will compare lexicographically, which is similar to alphabetical order but not quite the same.

"alpha" < "beta"
# True
"gamma" > "beta"
# True
"gamma" < "OMEGA"
# False

In these comparisons, lowercase letters are considered ‘greater than’ uppercase, which is why "gamma" < "OMEGA" is false. If they were all uppercase it would return the expected alphabetical ordering result:

"GAMMA" < "OMEGA"
# True

Each type defines it’s calculation with the \< and \> operators differently, so you should investigate what the operators mean with a given type before using it.