Is there a "not equal" operator in Python?

Python provides the not equal operator to compare values and check if they are different. The != operator is the standard way to perform "not equal" comparisons in modern Python.

The != Operator

The != operator returns True when two values are not equal, and False when they are equal ?

# Comparing numbers
result1 = 5 != 3
result2 = 5 != 5

print("5 != 3:", result1)
print("5 != 5:", result2)

5 != 3: True
5 != 5: False

Using != with Different Data Types

The not equal operator works with strings, lists, and other data types ?

# String comparison
name1 = "Alice"
name2 = "Bob"
print("Alice != Bob:", name1 != name2)

# List comparison
list1 = [1, 2, 3]
list2 = [1, 2, 4]
print("[1,2,3] != [1,2,4]:", list1 != list2)

# Mixed types
print("5 != '5':", 5 != '5')

Alice != Bob: True
[1,2,3] != [1,2,4]: True
5 != '5': True

The Deprecated <> Operator

In Python 2, both != and <> operators worked as "not equal". However, <> was removed in Python 3 ?

# Python 2 only (deprecated)
# result = 5 <> 3  # This would cause SyntaxError in Python 3

# Modern Python 3 approach
result = 5 != 3
print(result)

Practical Example

Here's how to use the not equal operator in conditional statements ?

user_input = "hello"
expected = "world"

if user_input != expected:
    print("Input does not match expected value")
else:
    print("Input matches expected value")

# Checking multiple conditions
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
for num in numbers:
    if num != 3:
        print(f"{num} is not equal to 3")

Input does not match expected value
1 is not equal to 3
2 is not equal to 3
4 is not equal to 3
5 is not equal to 3

Comparison with Other Operators

Conclusion

Use != as the standard "not equal" operator in Python. The <> operator was deprecated in Python 3, so always use != for modern Python code.