ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference - Adobe Help and Support

This script displays the following result in the Output panel:
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
!= inequality operator
expression1 != expression2
Tests for the exact opposite of the equality ( ==) operator. If expression1 is equal to
expression2 , the result is false. As with the equality (==) operator, the definition of equal
depends on the data types being compared, as illustrated in the following list:
■ Numbers, strings, and Boolean values are compared by value.
■ Objects, arrays, and functions are compared by reference.
■ A variable is compared by value or by reference, depending on its type.
Comparison by value means what most people would expect equals to mean--that two
expressions have the same value. For example, the expression (2 + 3) is equal to the expression
(1 + 4) when compared by value.
Comparison by reference means that two expressions are equal only if they both refer to the
same object, array, or function. Values inside the object, array, or function are not compared.
When comparing by value, if expression1 and expression2are different data types,
ActionScript will attempt to convert the data type of expression2 to match that of
expression1.
Availability: ActionScript 1.0; Flash Player 5
Operands
expression1 : Object - A number, string, Boolean value, variable, object, array, or
function.
expression2 : Object - A number, string, Boolean value, variable, object, array, or
function.
Returns
Boolean - The Boolean result of the comparison.
Example
The following example illustrates the result of the inequality (!=) operator:
trace(5 != 8); // returns true
trace(5 != 5) //returns false
170 ActionScript language elements