Why Does JavaScript Compare Strings Lexicographically?

Why Strings Are Compared Lexicographically in JavaScript

In JavaScript and many other programming languages, strings are often compared using lexicographical ordering. This means that strings are sorted in the same order they appear in a dictionary or phone book.

To illustrate, let's consider the code snippet provided:

var a = "one";
var b = "four";
a > b; // returns true

Why is "one" considered greater than "four"?

According to lexicographical ordering, strings are compared character by character, starting from the first character. When comparing "one" and "four":

• The first characters, 'o' and 'f', are different. Since 'o' comes before 'f' in the alphabet, "one" is considered greater than "four" at this stage.
• The remaining characters are 'ne' and 'our'. Even though "our" appears earlier in the alphabet, it doesn't matter since the first characters already determined the ordering.

Extending the Logic to Other Strings

• "a" is considered smaller than "one" and "four" because it comes before them lexicographically.
• "A" (capital A) is considered greater than "a" (lowercase a) because upper case letters are ranked higher than lower case letters lexicographically.
• "5" is considered greater than "four" because numbers are also compared lexicographically, but they rank higher than letters.

Lexicographical ordering allows for efficient string comparisons by utilizing dictionary-like ordering, which is especially useful for sorting and searching large collections of strings.

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