Greater than and less than in a list in python

Question

I was writing some code manipulating some lists in python where I ran into this

    #case1
    list1 = [2, 3, 4, 5] 
    list2 = [2, 3, 4, 6]
    #list1 > list2 is False
    
    #case2
    list3 = [1, 2, 3, 10] 
    list4 = [2, 4, 4, 3] 
    #list3 > list4 is also False

From case1 kinda makes sense cause the sum(list1) > sum(list2) but in case2 the sum(list3) > sum(list4) but still list4 is greater than list3. How does python compare two lists?

Does this answer your question? [Comparing two lists using the greater than or less than operator](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13052857/comparing-two-lists-using-the-greater-than-or-less-than-operator) — TheFungusAmongUs, Jul 29 '22 at 13:29

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 18 '20 at 10:46

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list is not compared based on sum. it is compared based on index. in the first case, only 5<6 and others are the same so it returns false. but in 2nd case, 1<2 so it is returning false

this link will help: Comparing two lists using the greater than or less than operator

answered Sep 18 '20 at 10:46

Yash

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That means list is compared based on the first different **element**? – Kritan Bhandari Sep 18 '20 at 10:48
@KritanBhandari yes – Yash Sep 18 '20 at 10:49

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 18 '20 at 10:48

From the Python documentation:

The comparison uses lexicographical ordering: first the first two items are compared, and if they differ this determines the outcome of the comparison; if they are equal, the next two items are compared, and so on, until either sequence is exhausted.

score -2 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 18 '20 at 11:01

-2

Only the first elements of the lists are compared to determine true or false. All the remaining elements can be anything.

answered Sep 18 '20 at 11:01

PascalianDisciple

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This is not accurate. It compares the elements one at a time – Hugh Sep 18 '20 at 12:16

Greater than and less than in a list in python

3 Answers3