In Python or Icon (or Unicon) that's

    lower_bound < x_coordinate < upper_bound

except that usually you want

    lower_bound <= x_coordinate < upper_bound

which is also legal.

In Python this is a magical special case, but in Icon/Unicon it falls out somewhat naturally from the language semantics; comparisons don't return Boolean values, but rather fail (returning no value) or succeed (returning a usually unused value which is chosen to be, IIRC, the right-hand operand).

And in SQL you have

    `x-coordinate` between `lower-bound` - 1 and `upper-bound` + 1

which is obviously the best possible syntax.