Operator < (Less Than)
Compares an expression less than another expression
Syntax
`
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As Byte, ByRef rhs As Byte ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As UByte, ByRef rhs As UByte ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As Short, ByRef rhs As Short ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As UShort, ByRef rhs As UShort ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As Integer, ByRef rhs As Integer ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As UInteger, ByRef rhs As UInteger ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As LongInt, ByRef rhs As LongInt ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As ULongInt, ByRef rhs As ULongInt ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As String, ByRef rhs As String ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As ZString, ByRef rhs As ZString ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As WString, ByRef rhs As WString ) As Integer
Declare Operator < ( ByRef lhs As T, ByRef rhs As T ) As Integer
`
Usage
`
result = lhs < rhs
`
Parameters
`lhs`
The left-hand side expression to compare to.
`rhs`
The right-hand side expression to compare to.
`T`
Any pointer type.
Return Value
Returns negative one (-1) if the left-hand side expression is less than the right-hand side expression, or zero (0) if greater than or equal.
Description
`Operator <` (Less than) is a binary operator that compares two expressions for inequality and returns the result - a boolean value in the form of an `Integer`: negative one (-1) for true and zero (0) for false. The arguments are not modified in any way.
This operator can be overloaded to accept user-defined types as well.
Example
`
Const size As Integer = 4
Dim array(size - 1) As Integer = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }
Dim index As Integer = 0
While (index < size)
Print array(index)
index += 1
Wend
`
`Operator >=` (Greater than or equal) is complement to `Operator <` (Less than), and is functionally identical when combined with `Operator Not` (Bit-wise Complement).
`
If (69 < 420) Then Print "(69 < 420) is true."
If Not (69 >= 420) Then Print "not (69 >= 420) is true."
`
Dialect Differences

- In the -lang qb dialect, this operator cannot be overloaded.

Differences from QB

- none

See also

- `Operator >=` (Greater than or equal)