What are comparison operators used for?

Comparison operators are utilized to specify relationships between two values. They allow you to compare different operands and determine the relationship such as greater than, less than, equal to, etc. These operators return a Boolean value of either true or false based on the comparison. For example, the expression 5 > 3 evaluates to true, indicating that 5 is indeed greater than 3. This functionality is essential for controlling the flow of programs, particularly within conditional statements (like if-else clauses) that require comparisons to determine which code block to execute. In this context, they are fundamental in decision-making processes within a program.

In contrast, performing arithmetic calculations involves arithmetic operators like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, rather than comparison. Manipulating data in arrays typically involves indexing and iteration, which do not specifically concern the relational aspects that comparison operators deal with. Additionally, while conditional statements generally utilize the results of comparisons to control execution paths, the operators themselves are explicitly focused on establishing relationships between values rather than executing statements. Thus, understanding the role of comparison operators is crucial for effective programming and algorithm development.