print+('equal','a is smaller','b is smaller')[length($a-$b)-length($b-$a)];

or

print 1x($a-$b)?'b is smaller':1x($b-$a)?'a is smaller':'equal';

In reply to Re: Compare two signed integers without using comparision operator in perl by Util
in thread Compare two signed integers without using comparision operator in perl by Das

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