Python Not Equal Operator (!=)

By : Steve Campbell Steve Campbell
Hours Updated

What is Python Not equal to Operator?

Python is identified as a programming language that is very dynamic, and it is generally regarded as a strongly typed language. This statement can be explained by understanding the significance of not equal operator. In not equal operator, if the values of the two operands on either side of the operator are not equal, then the operator provides true value, else it provides false.

In not equal operator, if two variables are of different types but hold the same values in themselves, then the not equal operator returns a true. Not many programming languages can classify it as true if the variable type is of a different type, which makes python a very dynamic language. In python, not equal operators can be classified as one of the comparison operators.

Types of Not equal to operators with Syntax in Python

The syntax of both types is shown below: –

X<>Y
X!=Y

There are two types of not equal operators in python:-

  • !=
  • <>

The first type, != is used in python versions 2 and 3.

The second type, <> is used in python version 2, and under version 3, this operator is deprecated.

Example of Python Not Equal Operator

Let us consider two scenarios to illustrate not equal to in python. Following is the example of not equal operator for same data type but different values:-

A = 44
B = 284
C = 284
print(B!=A)
print(B!=C)

Output:

True
False

Following is the example of not equal in python for different data type but same values

C = 12222
X = 12222.0
Y = "12222"
print(C!=X)
print(X!=Y)
print(C!=Y)

Output:

False
True
True

How to use Not Equal Operator with IF Statement

In python, an if-statement can be described as a statement that checks the entry-level condition and executes when it is true.

Let us take a basic example of using if statement and does not equal to operator as shown below: –

X = 5
Y = 5
if ( X != Y ):
  print("X is not equal to Y")
else:
  print("X is equal to Y")

Output:

X is equal to Y

Here, not equal to != is utilized along with the if statement.

How to use equal to (==) operator with while loop

In python, while-loop iterates block of code as long as a condition is true or false. Let us take a case of printing odd numbers using while loop and equal to operator as shown below: –

m = 300
while m <= 305:
   m = m + 1
  if m%2 == 0:
     continue
   print (m)

Output:

301
303
305

Here, equal to == is utilized along with the if statement.

Example: Finding even numbers by using not equal operator

In python, while loop can also be used with not equal to operator. Let us take a case of printing even numbers using while loop and not equal to operator as shown below: –

m = 300
while m <= 305:
  m = m + 1
  if m%2 != 0:
    continue
  print (m)

Output:

302
304
306

Here, not equal to != is utilized along with the if statement.

How to use Python not equal Operator with custom object

Custom objects enable the user or a developer to create their custom implementations. This enables the developers to change the actual output than what is usually anticipated.

Let us take an example of a custom object that utilizes not equal to operator as shown below: –

Example:

class G9Example:
   s_n=''
def __init__(self, name):
   self.s_n = name
def __ne__(self, x):
if type(x) != type(self):
  return True
# return True for different values
if self.s_n != x.s_n:
  return True
else:
  return False

G1 = G9Example("Guru99")
G2 = G9Example("HipHop99")
G3 = G9Example("Guru99")

print(G1 != G2)
print(G2 != G3)
print(G1 != G3)

Output:

True
True
False

Comparison operators in Python

Following table describes the list of comparison operators in python: –

Operator Meaning Example
!= Not equal to-gives true if operands do not have the same values A!=B
== Equal to-Gives true if operands have the same values A==B
>= Greater than or equal to- gives true as value if the first operand is greater than or equal with the second operand A>=B
<= Less than or equal to- gives true as value if the first operand is Less than or equal with the second operand A<=B
> Greater than – gives true as value if the first operand is greater than the second operand A>B
< Less than – gives true as value if the first operand is Less than the second operand A<B

Useful Tips on Usage of Not Equal Operator

Here are some useful tips

  • The not equal to operator can be used in formatted strings.
  • This feature is relatively new and is part of python version 3.6.
  • The developer should ensure that syntax should be != and not ≠ because some fonts or interpreters change syntax from != to ≠.
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