Why is one string greater than the other when comparing strings in JavaScript?

Question

I see this code from a book:

var a = "one";
var b = "four";
a>b; // will return true

but it doesn't mention why "one" is bigger than "four". I tried c = "a" and it is smaller than a and b. I want to know how JavaScript compares these strings.

Answer 1

Because, as in many programming languages, strings are compared lexicographically.

You can think of this as a fancier version of alphabetical ordering, the difference being that alphabetic ordering only covers the 26 characters a through z.

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This answer is in response to a java question, but the logic is exactly the same. Another good one: String Compare "Logic".