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"Hi, Amigo. Let me tell you about a new data type. The boolean. Variables of this type can take only two values: true and false."

"How do we use it?"

"This type is implicitly used in many places. Just as any addition operation produces a number, the result of any comparison is a boolean. Here are some examples:"

Code Explanation
1
boolean m;
These two expressions are equivalent. The default value of a boolean variable is false.
2
boolean m = false;
3
if (a > b)
    System.out.println(a);
The result of the comparison (either true or false) will be assigned to the variable m. The condition is satisfied if the expression evaluates to true.
4
boolean m = (a > b);
if (m)
    System.out.println(a);
5
boolean m = (a > b);
if (m == true)
    System.out.println(a);
There is no need to compare a logical (boolean) variable with true or false. The result of the comparison will be a boolean that matches the other variable. For example, true == true evaluates to true; true == false evaluates to false.
6
boolean m = (a > b);
if (m)
    System.out.println(a);

"More examples:"

Code Explanation
1
public boolean isALessThanB (int a, int b)
{
    if (a < b)
        return true;
    else
        return false;
}
This method verifies that number a is less than number b.

Here are four equivalent comparisons. The last one is the most compact and correct. Always try to use compact notation.

2
public boolean isALessThanB (int a, int b)
{
   boolean m = (a < b);
    if (m)
        return true;
    else
        return false;
}
3
public boolean isALessThanB (int a, int b)
{
    boolean m = (a < b);
    return m;
}
4
public boolean isALessThanB (int a, int b)
{
    return a < b;
}

"What if I want to write 0<a<b?"

"Java doesn't have a comparison operator that takes three operands. So, you would need to do it like this: (0<a) AND (a<b)."

"Do I write the word AND?"

"Wait. I'll explain that. Java has three logical operators: AND, OR and NOT. You can use them to construct conditions of varying complexity. You can use these operators only with boolean expressions. So, you can't write (a+1) AND (3), but (a>1)AND (a<3) is OK."

"The NOT operator is unary: it affects only the expression to the right. It's more like a minus sign before a negative number rather than a multiplication sign between two numbers."

"You can perform various operations on boolean (logical) variables."

"Like what?"

"Let's take a look:"

Logical operator Java notation Expression Result
AND && true && true true
true && false false
false && true false
false && false false
OR || true || true true
true || false true
false || true true
false || false false
NOT ! ! true false
! false true
Common combinations and expressions m && !m false
m || !m true
! (a && b) !a || !b
! (a || b) !a && !b

"Could you give me more examples?"

"Sure:"

Java notation Logical notation
(a<3) && (a>0) (a < 3) AND (a>0)
(a>10) || (a<100) (a>10) OR (a<100)
(a<b) && (!(c<=d)) (a<b) AND (NOT (c<=d))

"Now, do some tasks."