Comparing two numbers

Question

Challenge

Given two integers A and B as input, you must write a program which outputs if A>B, A==B or A<B.

The integers will be in any reasonable range supported by your language which includes at least 256 values.

Your program can be either a full program or a function, taking input via STDIN or function arguments.

Outputs

If A>B output

A is greater than B

If A==B output

A is equal to B

If A<B output

A is less than B

Where you replace A and B for their integer values.

For example:

 A   B   Output
--  --   ------
 0   1   0 is less than 1
 5   2   5 is greater than 2
20  20   20 is equal to 20

Winning

The shortest program in bytes wins.

Leaderboard

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Answer 1

Processing, 92 bytes

void c(int a,int b){print(a+" is "+(a>b?"greater than ":a<b?"lesser than ":"equal to ")+b);}

Answer 2

Ruby 1.9+, 73 71 70 68 bytes

->a,b{[a,b]*" is #{%w{equal\ to greater\ than less\ than}[a<=>b]} "}

Answer 3

Haskell, 97 94 88 bytes

a!b|a>b="greater than "|a<b="less than "|1<3="equal to "
a#b=show a++" is "++a!b++show b

thanks to nimi

94 byte version:

d a|a>0="greater than "|a<0="less than "|1<3="equal to "
c a b=show a++" is "++d(a-b)++show b

97 byte version:

d a b|a>b=" greater than "|a<b=" less than "|1<3=" equal to "
c a b=show a++" is"++d a b++show b

my first time golfing :) (tested with ghci, size determined with du and stat)

Answer 4

PHP, 103 100 bytes

103 byte version.

function c($a,$b){echo "A is ".($a==$b?"equal to":($a>$b?"greater than":($a<$b?"less than":"")))." B";}

100 byte version (thanks jrenk)

<?php function c($i,$u){echo$i.' is '.($i>$u?'greater than ':($i==$u?'equal to ':'less than ')).$u;}

Answer 5

PHP, 88 bytes

---

PHP function, 88 bytes:

function a($a,$b){echo"$a is ",$a-$b?($a>$b?"greater":"less")." than":"equal to"," $b";}
function b($a,$b){echo"$a is ",$a-$b?$a>$b?"greater than":"less than":"equal to"," $b";}
function c($a,$b){echo"$a is ",$a-$b?($a>$b?"greater":"less")." than $b":"equal to $b";}

Note than $a-$b can be replaced by $a^$b.

---

Full program, 89 bytes:

<?=$a=$argv[1]," is ",$a-($b=$argv[2])?($a>$b?"greater":"less")." than $b":"equal to $b";

---

I used:

• String interpolation.
• Nested ternary.
• Some echo tricks, like using commas instead of concatenating or using PHP short echo tag.

Answer 6

JavaScript, 84 bytes

f=function(a,b){alert(a+' is '+(a-b?(a>b?'greater':'less')+' than ':'equal to ')+b)}

Answer 7

05AB1E, 30 bytes

.S“ž‰€„†ª€ëîØ€ë“#2ôè¹'€ˆ.À`²ðý

Try it online!

Answer 8

Befunge-93, 82 bytes

<v"equal to "$_v#!\!`0:\0:-&,,,"is ".::&
 v "less than "_" naht retaerg"
@>:#,_$-.

Try it online!

Answer 9

APL (Dyalog Unicode), 56 bytes^SBCS

Anonymous infix lambda.

{∊⍺'is ','less than' 'equal to' 'greater than'[2+×⍺-⍵]⍵}

Try it online!

{…} "dfn"; left argument is ⍺ and right argument is ⍵:

 ⍵ the right argument to the right of
 'less than' 'equal to' 'greater than'[…] this list of three strings indexed by:
  ⍺-⍵ left argument minus right argument
  × sign of that
  2+ add two to that

 ⍺'is ', prepend the left argument and the string "is "

 ∊ ϵnlist (flatten)

Answer 10

Quipu, 154 bytes

'g'l'e\/' 3&5&2&[]1&' 4&
'r'e'q/\'i[][][]/\[]/\[]
'e's'u  's4&9&/\1@/\  /\
'a's'a  ' []<<1@??
't' 'l  /\--8&??
'e't'   \/  >> 
'r'h't
' 'a'o
't'n
'h
'a
'n

Attempt This Online!

Explanation

Threads 0 through 2 store the strings greater than, less than, and equal to, respectively. Then:

• Thread 3 inputs a number, stores it, and also outputs it
• Thread 4 outputs is , then inputs a number and stores it
• Thread 5 calculates the value of thread 3 minus the value of thread 4
• Thread 6 loads the value of thread 5 and:
  • jumps to thread 9 if it is less than 0
  • jumps to thread 8 if it is greater than 0
  • continues to thread 7 otherwise
• Thread 7 loads the value of thread 2, outputs it, and jumps to thread 10
• Thread 8 loads the value of thread 0, outputs it, and jumps to thread 10
• Thread 9 loads the value of thread 1, outputs it, and continues to thread 10
• Thread 10 outputs a space
• Thread 11 loads the value of thread 4 and outputs it

Answer 11

Vyxal ṡ, 34 bytes

=[«ß‟₆nḭ«|<[`∨⅛`|`∆ḭ`]`λ⊍`]?^‛is?^

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=[«ß‟₆nḭ«|<[`∨⅛`|`∆ḭ`]`λ⊍`]?^‛is?^ # Takes 2 numbers as arguments
=[«ß‟₆nḭ«                  ]        # If equal, push the base compressed string "equal to"
         |                          # Otherwise...
          <[`∨⅛`     ]              # If less than, push the string "less"
                |`∆ḭ`               # Otherwise, push the string "greater"
                      `λ⊍`          # Push the string "than"
                           ?        # Push the first number (due to the input mode, this turns out to be the second input)
                            ^       # Reverse the stack so we can prepend stuff
                             ‛is    # Push the string "is"
                                ?   # Push the second number (first input)
                                 ^  # Reverse the stack again
                                    # Implicit output. ṡ joins the stack on spaces

Answer 12

Thue, 181 bytes

1,1::=o,x
x1::=1x
x]::=]x
!x::=!o
11,]::=1o,]
[1,]::=!vo
vx::=>x
[,11::=[,1x
[,1]::=!<x
[,]::=!=
o::=~1
>::=~ is greater than 
<::=~ is less than 
=::=~ is equal to 
*::=:::
::=
[*]

Try it online!

The TIO version contains a trailing newline, but that’s only needed in this specific implementation; the specification doesn’t specify that the trailing newline is needed and other interpreters (e.g.) don’t require it. Similarly, the newlines in the output don’t show up in the linked interpreter.

IO Format

Input and output are in unary strings of 1s, and there is a comma (but no spaces) between A and B. e.g. For A = 2 and B = 3, input 11,111.

Explanation (not really)

Unfortunately, my own motivation to write an explanation is inversely proportional to the reader’s desire for one, so I won’t write a detailed explanation. However, this ungolfed version that’s just split into sections might help (I’ll use # to denote comments):

# General stuff
1,1::=o,x
x1::=1x
x]::=]x
!x::=!o

# Check for greater than-ness
11,]::=1o,]
[1,]::=!vo
vx::=>x

# Check for less than-ness
[,11::=[,1x
[,1]::=!<x

# Check for equality
[,]::=!=

# Output
o::=~1
>::=~ is greater than 
<::=~ is less than 
=::=~ is equal to 

# Input
*::=:::
::=
[*]

Look at the Input, Output, and General stuff sections first before looking at the other sections.

Also, maybe use this interpreter to step through some examples.

Original answer:

Thue, 48 bytes, non-competing due to output format

*::=:::
1_1::=_
1__::=~>
__1::=~<
___::=~=
::=
*

Try it online!

IO format

The numbers are inputted in unary as strings of 1s, with an underscore on either side and an underscore between them. For example, to compare 2 and 3, the input would be _11_111_.

If the input is _A_B_ then the output is > if \$A>B\$, < if \$A<B\$, and = if \$A=B\$.

Explanation

I will assume some familiarity with Thue, so go read the Language description section of the Esolang page.

*::=:::     Take input (see also the last two lines).
1_1::=_     (Continually) subtract 1 from both numbers while both are positive.
1__::=~>    If B becomes 0 but A remains positive, A > B.
__1::=~<    If A becomes 0 but B remains positive, A < B.
___::=~=    If both A and B become 0, A = B.
::=
*

Answer 13

C++, 109 bytes

#include<cstdio>
int x(int a,int b){printf("%d is %s %d",a,a>b?"greater than":a<b?"less than":"equal to",b);}

Answer 14

Inform 7, 109 bytes

To(A - value)T(B - value):say "[A] is [if A is B]equal to [else if A > B]greater than [else]less than ";say B

This defines a phrase used as 1 T 2;.

Answer 15

Common Lisp, 92 bytes

(lambda(a b)(format t"~A is ~[less than~;equal to~;greater than~] ~A"a(1+(signum(- a b)))b))

More readably:

(lambda(a b)
  (format t "~A is ~[less than~;equal to~;greater than~] ~A"
  a                   ; first ~A
  (1+(signum(- a b))) ; gives 0, 1 or 2 which selects a clause in ~[ ~]
  b                   ; second ~A
))

Answer 16

PHP 7, 91 bytes

<?=$a=$argv[1],[~ß–ŒßšŽŠž“ß‹ß,~ß–Œß“šŒŒß‹—ž‘ß][($b=$argv[2])<=>$a]?:~ß–Œß˜šž‹šß‹—ž‘ß,$b;

Usage:

Save as ANSI in file.php and run:

php -derror_reporting=~E_NOTICE file.php A B

Is suppressing notices via CLI flag considered cheating? If so, here is a version that works with full error reporting, (93 Bytes)

<?=$a=$argv[1],@[~ß–ŒßšŽŠž“ß‹ß,~ß–Œß“šŒŒß‹—ž‘ß][($b=$argv[2])<=>$a]?:" is greater than ",$b;

Some Explanation

For the string constants, I used undefined constants and bitwise invert them with ~. PHP replaces undefined constants with the name of the constant (foo => "foo") and allows special characters in constant names. This way you can save a byte even for strings with whitespace. Example: ~ß => " ")

The spaceship operator <=> returns 0 if the operands are equal, -1 if the left operand is less than the right operand and 1 if the left operand is greater than the left operand. I use this as array index, to get " is equal to " and " is less than ". For the non-existing array key -1 the result is null and thanks to ?: we get " is greater than " in this case.

Answer 17

JavaScript, 92 bytes

a=+prompt(),b=+prompt();alert(a+" is "+(a>b?"greater than ":a<b?"less than ":"equal to ")+b)

Answer 18

Swift 2.0, 87 bytes

func g(a:Int,b:Int){print("A is",a==b ?"equal to":a<b ?"less than":"greater than","B")}

Answer 19

PowerShell, 98 85 Bytes

(Thanks to tomkandy for the huge assist on the param and reminding me that PowerShell likes inline subexpression parsing, so go ahead and use it)

param($a,$b);"$a is $(@("equal to","greater than","less than")[$a.CompareTo($b)]) $b"

Essentially the same, just trimmed down quite a bit.

---

(Original below)

Decently competitive, I was somewhat surprised. Again, the $ character and taking input is the downfall.

$a=$args[0];$b=$args[1];"$a is "+@("equal to","greater than","less than")[$a.CompareTo(+$b)]+" $b"

_{(Creating a function of two arguments is one byte longer than taking command-line input of two arguments, thanks to the } at the end)}

function r{param($a,$b);<doing_stuff>}
$a=$args[0];$b=$args[1];<doing_stuff>

Expanded:

$a=$args[0]
$b=$args[1]
"$a is " + @("equal to","greater than","less than")[$a.CompareTo(+$b)] + " $b"

Similar in concept to some other languages present, this is utilizing a feature of x.CompareTo(y), which returns -1 if x<y, 0 if x=y, and 1 if x>y. We take that result and pull out the appropriate value from a dynamic array we just created, leveraging the fact that [-1] stands for the last item in the array.

Do note the + inside the CompareTo(+$b) statement -- an explicit cast to an Integer. If we left that off, it would try to utilize the String comparison instead, which yields odd behavior.

Answer 20

Mouse-2002, 73 bytes

Uses variables (lame, I know).

?a:?b:"A is "a.b.>["greater than"]a.b.<["less than"]a.b.=["equal to"]" B"

Explained:

? a: ? b:  ~ store input in a , b
"A is "               ~ print
a. b. > [           ~ testif
  "greater than"      ~ print
]
a. b. < [           ~ rinse && repeat
  "less than"
]
a. b. = [
  "equal to"
]
" B"

---

Pure stack version: 96 95 bytes

I had fun writing this one. It would be a LOT shorter if Mouse had a 2dup instruction, but I implemented it myself instead.

??#D;#D;"A is ">["greater than"]<["less than"]=["equal to"]" B"
$D&swap &dup &rot &rot &over @

How this works:

? ? #D; #D; ~ get some input, then 2dup twice
"A is "                ~ print this
> [                  ~ test if gtr
  "greater than"       ~ print this
]                      ~ fallthrough
< [                  ~ repeat for next two conditions
  "less than"
]
= [
  "equal to"
]
" B"

$D       ~ def D():
 &swap        ~ ( x y -- y x )
 &dup         ~        ( y x -- y x x )
 &rot         ~               ( y x x -- x x y )
 &rot         ~                        ( x x y -- x y x )
 &over        ~                                 ( x y x -- x y x y )
@

We need the 2dup instruction because comparison pops. Stack operations FTW!

Edit: for the same stack effect but a byte less, the second swap in the 2dup implementation was changed to rot.

Answer 21

beeswax, 68 chars

Non-competing answer, as I finished creating beeswax in December 2015, long after the start of the challenge.

The natural number range of beeswax is 64 bit unsigned integers, so this should be a valid solution. I’ll post a solution for 64 bit signed integers soon.

_T~T~{` is `Kp`equal to `{
p`ht ssel`#L~EL#~`greater than `{
>`an `{

You can clone the full and latest version of my beeswax interpreter, including examples and language specification from my GitHub repo.

Answer 22

Perl 6, 74 bytes

->\a,\b{say a~" is {<less equal greater>[1+(a <=>b)],<than to>[a==b]} "~b} # 74

Usage:

# give it a lexical name for ease of use
my &compare = ->\a,\b{ … }

compare 1,2;
compare 2,2;
compare 3,2;

say '';

compare "{ 2²⁵⁶ }\n", "\n{ 2²⁵⁶ + 1 }"

1 is less than 2
2 is equal to 2
3 is greater than 2

115792089237316195423570985008687907853269984665640564039457584007913129639936
 is less than 
115792089237316195423570985008687907853269984665640564039457584007913129639937

Answer 23

Julia, 90 79 chars

Arrays in Julia use 1-based indexing, so adding 2 to the cmp function is necessary for proper access to the array.

c(a,b)=print(a," is ",["less than ","equal to ","greater than "][cmp(a,b)+2],b)

Result:

julia> c(2,2)                       
2 is equal to 2                     
julia> c(1654654,0)                 
1654654 is greater than 0           
julia> c(-99999999999,-654654654)   
-99999999999 is less than -654654654

Answer 24

Python 3, 78 bytes

Translation of TheNumberOne's, using a double conditional instead of cmp, doesn't do too badly imo.

lambda a,b:print(a,'is',[['equal to','greater than'][a>b],'less than'][a<b],b)

You can also replace cmp(a,b) with (a>b)-(a<b), but when I replaced it directly I found it one byte longer than my solution above. I also tried returning a string, instead of printing, but that was longer too.

Answer 25

SmileBASIC, 84 bytes

INPUT A,B
S=B-A?A;" is ";MID$("greater equal toless ",SGN(S)*8+8,8);"than"*!!S;" ";B

Answer 26

PowerShell, 71 Bytes

param($a,$b)"$a is $($a-$b|% T*g "greater than;less than;equal to") $b"

an update to the existing powershell answer from 2 years ago.

Answer 27

J, 64 bytes

9;:inv@A.;&":,'is'~.@;cut@'equal to greater than less'{~1 2*>-<

Try it online!

equal to is joined by a non-break space.

1 2*>-<: –1, –2 if less; 0, 0 if equal; 1, 2 if greater than
;&":,'is'~.@; prepend is, then prepend A and B. Because 0, 0 yields equal to,equal to, there’s a ~. to remove duplicates.
9 A. to shuffle B to the last position.
;:inv@ join by spaces

Answer 28

Swift >=2.2, 85 bytes

func f(a:Int,b:Int){print(a,"is",a==b ?"equal to":(a>b ?"greater":"less")+" than",b)}

SwiftFiddle link

The two current Swift answers, both in Swift 2.0, are invalid because they print the literal letters "A" and "B" instead of the values given into the function. Other than that, this is pretty much identical to those two.

I can't find any Swift 2.0 or 2.1 compilers online, so I can't say for certain it works in those versions, but I don't see why it wouldn't. The function is f(_:b:) in Swift 2.2 and f(a:b:) in Swift >=3.0.

Answer 29

Noether, 91 79 bytes

I~aP" is "PI~b{ab=}{"equal to"P}{ab>}{"greater than"P}{ab<}{"less than"P}" "PbP

Try it here!

Note that while Noether is based heavily on Fourier, I have sacrificed golfability for functionality.

Answer 30

05AB1E, 38 36 bytes

²¹.S>ð“îØ€ë
ž‰€„
†ª€ë“«¶¡è¹… is«sð²J

I'm surprised there isn't already a 05AB1E answer. You can write almost any word in 05AB1E with just 2 bytes.

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