The Waite Group's C++ Primer Plus, Third Edition

Relational Expressions

Computers are more than relentless number crunchers. They have the capability to compare values, and this capability is the foundation of computer decision-making. In C++, relational operators embody this ability. C++ provides six relational operators to compare numbers. Because characters are represented by their ASCII code, you can use these operators with characters, too, but they don't work with C-style strings. Each relational expression reduces to the bool value true if the comparison is true and to the bool value false if the comparison is false, so they are well suited for use in a loop test expression. (Older implementations evaluate true relational expressions to 1 and false relational expressions to 0.) Table ...