Comparing Single Values With <=, <, >, and >=

When neither object to be compared is a node set and the operator is <=, <, >=, or >, the XPath processor performs the comparison by converting both objects to numbers and comparing the numbers according to IEEE 754.

Table 100. Comparison Operator Descriptions
Comparison	True If and Only If
`<`	The first number is less than the second number.
`<=`	The first number is less than or equal to the second number.
`>`	The first number is greater than the second number.
`>=`	The first number is greater than or equal to the second number.

The XPath processor always evaluates these comparisons in terms of numbers. You cannot use the less than and greater than operators to order strings. This is especially important to remember when you compare a number with a string. For example, suppose you want to evaluate the expression


a < "foo"

The return value is always false. This is because number("foo") returns NaN, and the resulting comparison, shown below, is always false.


a < NaN

< Previous| Next >

Download a 15 Day Free Trial Now >

See What's New for 2012 in Stylus Studio X14 >

Purchase Stylus Studio X14 Now >

WSDL Editor

WSDL Editor featuring a graphical WSDL viewer, syntax help, Java Web Service code generation and more. Simplify Web Services development with Stylus Studio's Web Service Description Language (WSDL) Editor today!

Television

Building DataDirect XQuery Applications

Stylus Studio further simplifies relational and XML data integration by providing advanced XQuery tools support for building XQuery applications which use DataDirect XQuery.

Why XQuery - The Case for XQuery

Read "The Case for XQuery" - an article that debuted in the November 2005 issue of SOA WebServices Journal, written by Jerry King, Vice President of DataDirect Technologies.

Comparing Single Values With <=, <, >, and >=

WSDL Editor

Television

Building DataDirect XQuery Applications

Why XQuery - The Case for XQuery

Stylus Most Wanted