>

>TA = "Some chars"
>? TA > ""          
>

>
>The above returns .F. Why? A non-empty string should surely be greater than an empty string?

With SET EXACT OFF, anyhing on the left is '=' empty string on the right. See http://www.berezniker.com/content/pages/visual-foxpro/string-comparison-vfp for deatails.