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Comparer<T>.Compare(T, T) Method

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
System.Collections.Generic
Assembly:
System.Collections.dll
Assembly:
mscorlib.dll
Assembly:
netstandard.dll
Source:
Comparer.cs
Source:
Comparer.cs
Source:
Comparer.cs

When overridden in a derived class, performs a comparison of two objects of the same type and returns a value indicating whether one object is less than, equal to, or greater than the other.

public:
 abstract int Compare(T x, T y);
public abstract int Compare (T x, T y);
public abstract int Compare (T? x, T? y);
abstract member Compare : 'T * 'T -> int
Public MustOverride Function Compare (x As T, y As T) As Integer

Parameters

x
T

The first object to compare.

y
T

The second object to compare.

Returns

Int32

A signed integer that indicates the relative values of x and y, as shown in the following table.

Value Meaning
Less than zero x is less than y.
Zero x equals y.
Greater than zero x is greater than y.

Implements

Compare(T, T)

Exceptions

ArgumentException

Type T does not implement either the IComparable<T> generic interface or the IComparable interface.

Examples

The following example defines a comparer of Box objects that can be used instead of the default comparer. This example is part of a larger example provided for the Comparer<T> class.

public class BoxLengthFirst : Comparer<Box>
{
    // Compares by Length, Height, and Width.
    public override int Compare(Box x, Box y)
    {
        if (x.Length.CompareTo(y.Length) != 0)
        {
            return x.Length.CompareTo(y.Length);
        }
        else if (x.Height.CompareTo(y.Height) != 0)
        {
            return x.Height.CompareTo(y.Height);
        }
        else if (x.Width.CompareTo(y.Width) != 0)
        {
            return x.Width.CompareTo(y.Width);
        }
        else
        {
            return 0;
        }
    }
}

type BoxLengthFirst() =
    inherit Comparer<Box>()

    // Compares by Length, Height, and Width.
    override _.Compare(x: Box, y: Box) =
        if x.Length.CompareTo y.Length <> 0 then
            x.Length.CompareTo y.Length
        elif x.Height.CompareTo y.Height <> 0 then
            x.Height.CompareTo y.Height
        elif x.Width.CompareTo y.Width <> 0 then
            x.Width.CompareTo y.Width
        else
            0

Public Class BoxLengthFirst
    Inherits Comparer(Of Box)
    ' Compares by Length, Height, and Width.
    Public Overrides Function Compare(ByVal x As Box, ByVal y As Box) As Integer
        If x.Length.CompareTo(y.Length) <> 0 Then
            Return x.Length.CompareTo(y.Length)
        ElseIf x.Height.CompareTo(y.Height) <> 0 Then
            Return x.Height.CompareTo(y.Height)
        ElseIf x.Width.CompareTo(y.Width) <> 0 Then
            Return x.Width.CompareTo(y.Width)
        Else
            Return 0
        End If
    End Function

End Class

Remarks

Implement this method to provide a customized sort order comparison for type T.

Notes to Implementers

Comparing null with any reference type is allowed and does not generate an exception. A null reference is considered to be less than any reference that is not null.

For information on culture-specific comparisons, see the System.Globalization namespace and Globalization and Localization.

Applies to

See also