# E0373: unexpected whitespace between '!' and '=='; '!' here treated as the TypeScript non-null assertion operator

While `x! == y` is legal TypeScript for a non-null assertion, it may be a typo for a strict inequality, as in `x !== y`:

    let x = 17;
    let y = 38;
    if (x! == y) {
        alert('Not equal!');
    }

To fix the warning, replace `! ==` with `!==`:

    let x = 17;
    let y = 38;
    if (x !== y) {
      alert("Not equal!");
    }

To suppress this warning, add parentheses around the non-null assertion:

    let x = 17;
    let y = 38;
    if ((x!) == y) {
      alert("Not equal!");
    }

See also: E0374

Documentation for other errors