Because '<', '>' and '&' characters are cumbersome to use in XML, PHPTAL provides alternative syntax for PHP operators using these characters, and a few more for consistency.
These operators can be used only in php: expressions.
< : LT (less than)
> : GT (greater than)
<= : LE (less or equal)
>= : GE (greater or equal)
== : EQ (equal)
!= : NE (not equal)
&& : AND
|| : OR