javascript comparison of strings

Question

I have the following script

document.write("12" < "2");

which returns true. Any reason why? The documentation says that javascript compares strings numerically but, I don't see how "12" is less than "2".

Answer 1

JavaScript compares strings character by character until one of the characters is different.

1 is less than 2 so it stops comparing after the first character.

Answer 2

I believe it is doing a lexicographic comparison - the first char in string one is '1', which is less than the first char of string two, which is '2'. More about Lexicographic order here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexicographical_order