Asking whether things are the same

01 / 06

Ask with ==

To find out whether two values are the same, use ==, two = together.

The answer is True or False, the same as with any comparison.

print(10 == 10)print(10 == 5)

Result

True
False

02 / 06

Why not just =

Because = is already taken. It means "put into".

x = 5 … put 5 into x
x == 5 … is x the same as 5

Completely different jobs, so they needed different symbols. One stroke puts in, two ask.

x = 5print(x == 5)

Result

True

03 / 06

What happens if you muddle them

Write if x = 5: and Python raises a SyntaxError and stops.

That is actually a kindness. In some languages a stray = will run happily and leave you with a bug you cannot explain. Python stops you at the door.

x = 3if x = 5:    print("pass")

Result

SyntaxError: invalid syntax. Maybe you meant '==' or ':=' instead of '='?

04 / 06

Ask "is it different" with !=

The other way round, != asks whether two things are not the same. ! means "not".

== and != always give opposite answers, so pick whichever reads better.

print(10 != 5)print(10 != 10)

Result

True
False

05 / 06

It works on text too

== is not only for numbers. On text it checks whether the contents match character for character.

Capitals and small letters count as different, so "Yes" and "yes" do not match.

greeting = "good morning"print(greeting == "good morning")print("Yes" == "yes")

Result

True
False

06 / 06

Different types are never the same

Even when they look alike, a different type means a different thing. 10 and "10" do not match.

Values arriving from outside are usually text, so remember to put them through int() before comparing them with a number.

print(10 == "10")print(10 == int("10"))

Result

False
True