What is operation of <> in Python?

The <> operator was a comparison operator in Python 2 used to check if two values are not equal. This operator has been removed in Python 3 and replaced with != for the same functionality.

Syntax

Python 2 (Deprecated)

variable1 <> variable2

Python 3 (Current)

variable1 != variable2

Both operators return True if the values are not equal, and False if they are equal.

Python 2 Example (Historical)

In Python 2, the <> operator worked as follows ?

# Python 2 only
a = 10
b = 20
print(a <> b)  # Returns True (10 is not equal to 20)

True

Python 3 Equivalent Using !=

In Python 3, we use the != operator for the same functionality ?

a = 10
b = 20
result = (a != b)
print("10 != 20:", result)

# Same values comparison
x = 5
y = 5
result2 = (x != y)
print("5 != 5:", result2)

10 != 20: True
5 != 5: False

Using != with Different Data Types

The != operator works with various data types ?

# Lists
numbers1 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
numbers2 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
numbers3 = [1, 2, 3, 4, 6]

print("List comparison:")
print(numbers1 != numbers2)  # False (identical lists)
print(numbers1 != numbers3)  # True (different lists)

# Strings
name1 = "Python"
name2 = "Java"
print("\nString comparison:")
print(name1 != name2)  # True (different strings)

List comparison:
False
True

String comparison:
True

Error When Using <> in Python 3

Attempting to use the <> operator in Python 3 results in a syntax error ?

# This will cause a SyntaxError in Python 3
a = 10
b = 20
c = (a <> b)  # Invalid syntax
print(c)

  File "<string>", line 3
    c = (a <> b)
            ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

Migration from Python 2 to Python 3

Conclusion

The <> operator was deprecated in Python 3 and replaced with !=. Always use != for "not equal" comparisons in modern Python code. The functionality remains identical, returning boolean values based on inequality comparison.