Greater Than Operator (`>`) in C++

The greater than operator (>) in C++ is a relational operator used to compare two values or expressions to check if the value on the left-hand side is strictly greater than the value on the right-hand side.

It returns true if the left operand is greater, and false otherwise.

Syntax

operand1 > operand2

Returns true if operand1 is greater than operand2.
Returns false if operand1 is less than or equal to operand2.

1. Greater Than with Integers

greater_than_int.cpp

int a = 15, b = 10;
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 1 (true)

greater_than_int_false.cpp

int a = 5, b = 10;
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 0 (false)

2. Greater Than with Float and Double

Floating-point numbers can be compared directly with > as with integers.

greater_than_float.cpp

float x = 3.14f;
float y = 2.71f;
std::cout << (x > y);  // Output: 1 (true)

greater_than_double.cpp

double a = 0.1 + 0.2;
double b = 0.3;
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 0 (false)

3. Greater Than with Characters

Characters in C++ are internally represented by their ASCII values, so comparison is numeric.

greater_than_char.cpp

char a = 'b';  // ASCII 98
char b = 'a';  // ASCII 97
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 1 (true)

4. Greater Than with Boolean Values

Booleans are treated as integers with false = 0 and true = 1.

greater_than_bool.cpp

bool a = true;
bool b = false;
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 1 (true)

5. Greater Than with Strings (`std::string`)

The std::string class supports lexicographical comparison using the > operator, which compares strings character-by-character based on ASCII values.

greater_than_string.cpp

#include <string>
std::string a = "banana";
std::string b = "apple";
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 1 (true)

greater_than_string_false.cpp

std::string a = "apple";
std::string b = "banana";
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 0 (false)

6. Greater Than with C-style Strings

C-style strings (char[]) do not support direct comparison with >. You must use strcmp() for lexicographical comparison.

greater_than_cstring.cpp

#include <cstring>
char a[] = "orange";
char b[] = "apple";
std::cout << (strcmp(a, b) > 0);  // Output: 1 (true)

7. Greater Than in Conditions

greater_than_if.cpp

int score = 85;
if (score > 75) {
    std::cout << "You passed the test.";
}

8. Greater Than in Loops

greater_than_while.cpp

int i = 10;
while (i > 0) {
    std::cout << i << " ";
    i--;
}

Output: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

9. Mixed Data Type Comparison

Implicit type conversion allows comparison of different numeric types.

greater_than_mixed.cpp

int a = 10;
float b = 9.99f;
std::cout << (a > b);  // Output: 1 (true)

10. Practice Problems

Problem 1: Age Eligibility Check

practice_age_eligibility.cpp

int age = 20;
if (age > 18) {
    std::cout << "Eligible to vote.";
}

Problem 2: Compare Two Strings

practice_compare_strings.cpp

#include <string>
std::string str1 = "cat";
std::string str2 = "dog";
if (str1 > str2) {
    std::cout << "str1 is greater.";
} else {
    std::cout << "str2 is greater.";
}

Problem 3: Count Down Loop

practice_countdown.cpp

for (int i = 5; i > 0; i--) {
    std::cout << i << " ";
}

Summary Table

Data Type	Example	Result
`int`	`10 > 5`	`true`
`float`	`2.5f > 3.0f`	`false`
`double`	`0.3 > 0.1 + 0.2`	`true`
`char`	`'b' > 'a'`	`true`
`bool`	`true > false`	`true`
`std::string`	`"banana" > "apple"`	`true`
`char[]`	`strcmp(a,b) > 0`	`true`

Best Practices

Use > to compare numeric values, characters, and strings lexicographically.
Do not compare C-style strings directly with >; use strcmp() instead.
Remember that comparing floating-point numbers with > is generally safe, but be aware of floating-point precision limits.
For boolean values, true is greater than false (1 > 0).
In complex expressions, use parentheses to clarify precedence.

Not equal to Less than

Greater Than Operator (>) in C++