What is the purpose of the '==' operator?

The == operator in programming is used to compare two values for equality. Its purpose is to determine if the values on both sides of the operator are equal. Here are some key points:

1. Comparison: It checks if the operands (values) are the same.
2. Return Value: It returns a boolean value:
   • true if the values are equal.
   • false if they are not equal.
3. Usage: Commonly used in conditional statements (like if statements) to control the flow of the program based on whether a condition is met.

Example in C:

int a = 5;
int b = 5;

if (a == b) {
    printf("a is equal to b\n"); // This will be printed
} else {
    printf("a is not equal to b\n");
}

In this example, since a and b are both 5, the condition a == b evaluates to true, and the corresponding message is printed.