Eng:() is less than () (block)

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The correct title of this article is () < (). The change of name is due to technical restrictions.

() < ()
Category	Operators
Type	Boolean

The () < () block is an Operators block and a Boolean block. The block checks if the first value is less than the second value. If it is less, the block returns true; if not, it returns false.

This block works with letters too, as well as numbers. In Scratch, letters at the top of the alphabet (e.g. a, b, c) are worth less than letters at the end (e.g. x, y, z). In Scratch 1.3 and previous versions, it only accepted numbers.

Example Uses

Some common uses for the () < () block are below:

• If a group must be arranged in size, this block can easily do the job by iterating through a list and checking if each value is less than the rest until placement is detected. For example, if a list is supposed to be sorted from greatest to least, the following script can accomplish this:

set [i v] to [1] //start at the front
repeat (length of [numbers v])
set [i2 v] to [1]
repeat until <<(item (i) of [numbers v]) < (item (i2) of [numbers v])> or <(i2) > (length of [numbers v])
change [i2 v] by (1)
end
insert (item (i) of [numbers v]) at ((i2) + (1)) of [numbers v]
if <(i2) < ((i) + (1))> then
delete ((i) + (1)) of [numbers v]
else
delete (i) of [numbers v]
end
change [i v] by (1)
end

• Arranging a set of numbers/letters

if <<(score) < (item (1 v) of [Top Scores v])> and <(score) > (item (2 v) of [Top Scores v])>> then
    
insert (score) at (2 v) of [list v]
end

• Evaluating numbers/letters

set [i v] to [1]
delete [all v] of [evaluation v]
repeat (length of [scores v])
if <(item (i) of [scores v]) < (5)> then //if the score is lower than 5
insert [okay] at (i) of [evaluation v] //tells how the score is
else
if <(item (i) of [scores v]) < (10)> then
insert [good] at (i) of [evaluation v]
else
insert [great!] at (i) of [evaluation v]
end
end
change [i v] by (1)

• Comparing different variables (e.g. comparing two characters' health in a game)

if <(1 Health) < (2 Health)> then
say [Player 2 wins]
else
say [Player 1 wins]
end

• Asking for an opinion on a scale of 1 to 10

set [confirmed v] to [0] //stores yes or no is the answer is complete and acceptable
repeat until <(confirmed) = [1]>
ask [How good are my cookies?] and wait
if <<(answer) < (1)> or <(answer) > (10)>> then
say [The response must be from 1 through 10] for (2) secs
else
set [confirmed v] to [1]
end
end

Workaround

Main article: List of Block Workarounds

The block can be replicated with the following code:

<not <<(a) > (b)> or <(a) = (b)>>>

Less than or equal to

Sometimes it is necessary to know if a value is less than or equal to another value, but there is no block to do so. However, it can be worked around in two ways:

<not <(a) > (b)>>

<<(a) < (b)> or <(a) = (b)>>

The first workaround is more efficient.

See Also

• () = () (block)
• () > ()
• Numbers