How Does Python Compare Strings Lexicographically?

How are Strings Compared and Why

Python employs lexicographical comparison for strings, where individual characters are compared sequentially, determining the outcome based on their Unicode code points (in Python 3) or ASCII codes (in Python 2).

In comparing "abc" and "bac," it appears counterintuitive that "abc" is considered greater than "bac." However, when comparing corresponding characters, "a" is found to be of lower value than "b" in the first position, terminating the comparison and returning True.

This sequential character-based comparison means that "abc" is considered greater than "bac" due to the lower code point value of "a" compared to "b" in the first position, outweighing any comparisons beyond that point.

Additionally, comparisons are case-sensitive, so uppercase characters have higher code point values than their lowercase counterparts. This explains why "a" is greater than "Z" in Python, as lowercase "a" has a code point of 97 while uppercase "Z" has a code point of 90.

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