IEqualityComparer<T> Interface
Definition
Important
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Defines methods to support the comparison of objects for equality.
generic <typename T>
public interface class IEqualityComparerpublic interface IEqualityComparer<in T>public interface IEqualityComparer<T>type IEqualityComparer<'T> = interfacePublic Interface IEqualityComparer(Of In T)Public Interface IEqualityComparer(Of T)Type Parameters
- T
The type of objects to compare.
This type parameter is contravariant. That is, you can use either the type you specified or any type that is less derived. For more information about covariance and contravariance, see Covariance and Contravariance in Generics.- Derived
Examples
The following example adds custom Box objects to a dictionary collection. The Box objects are considered equal if their dimensions are the same.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
static class Example
{
static void Main()
{
BoxEqualityComparer comparer = new();
Dictionary<Box, string> boxes = new(comparer);
AddBox(new Box(4, 3, 4), "red");
AddBox(new Box(4, 3, 4), "blue");
AddBox(new Box(3, 4, 3), "green");
Console.WriteLine($"The dictionary contains {boxes.Count} Box objects.");
void AddBox(Box box, string name)
{
try
{
boxes.Add(box, name);
}
catch (ArgumentException e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Unable to add {box}: {e.Message}");
}
}
}
}
class Box
{
public int Height { get; }
public int Length { get; }
public int Width { get; }
public Box(int height, int length, int width)
{
Height = height;
Length = length;
Width = width;
}
public override string ToString() => $"({Height}, {Length}, {Width})";
}
class BoxEqualityComparer : IEqualityComparer<Box>
{
public bool Equals(Box? b1, Box? b2)
{
if (ReferenceEquals(b1, b2))
return true;
if (b2 is null || b1 is null)
return false;
return b1.Height == b2.Height
&& b1.Length == b2.Length
&& b1.Width == b2.Width;
}
public int GetHashCode(Box box) => box.Height ^ box.Length ^ box.Width;
}
// The example displays the following output:
// Unable to add (4, 3, 4): An item with the same key has already been added.
// The dictionary contains 2 Box objects.
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim boxEqC As New BoxEqualityComparer()
Dim boxes As New Dictionary(Of Box, String)(boxEqC)
Dim redBox = New Box(4, 3, 4)
AddBox(boxes, redBox, "red")
Dim blueBox = new Box(4, 3, 4)
AddBox(boxes, blueBox, "blue")
Dim greenBox = new Box(3, 4, 3)
AddBox(boxes, greenBox, "green")
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine("The dictionary contains {0} Box objects.",
boxes.Count)
End Sub
Private Sub AddBox(dict As Dictionary(Of Box, String), box As Box, name As String)
Try
dict.Add(box, name)
Catch e As ArgumentException
Console.WriteLine("Unable to add {0}: {1}", box, e.Message)
End Try
End Sub
End Module
Public Class Box
Private _Height As Integer
Private _Length As Integer
Private _Width As Integer
Public Sub New(ByVal h As Integer, ByVal l As Integer,
ByVal w As Integer)
Me.Height = h
Me.Length = l
Me.Width = w
End Sub
Public Property Height() As Integer
Get
Return _Height
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Integer)
_Height = value
End Set
End Property
Public Property Length() As Integer
Get
Return _Length
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Integer)
_Length = value
End Set
End Property
Public Property Width() As Integer
Get
Return _Width
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Integer)
_Width = value
End Set
End Property
Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
Return String.Format("({0}, {1}, {2})", _Height, _Length, _Width)
End Function
End Class
Class BoxEqualityComparer
Implements IEqualityComparer(Of Box)
Public Overloads Function Equals(ByVal b1 As Box, ByVal b2 As Box) _
As Boolean Implements IEqualityComparer(Of Box).Equals
If b1 Is Nothing AndAlso b2 Is Nothing Then
Return True
ElseIf b1 Is Nothing Or b2 Is Nothing Then
Return False
ElseIf b1.Height = b2.Height AndAlso b1.Length =
b2.Length AndAlso b1.Width = b2.Width Then
Return True
Else
Return False
End If
End Function
Public Overloads Function GetHashCode(ByVal bx As Box) _
As Integer Implements IEqualityComparer(Of Box).GetHashCode
Dim hCode As Integer = bx.Height Xor bx.Length Xor bx.Width
Return hCode.GetHashCode()
End Function
End Class
' The example displays the following output:
' Unable to add (4, 3, 4): An item with the same key has already been added.
'
' The dictionary contains 2 Box objects.
Remarks
This interface allows the implementation of customized equality comparison for collections. That is, you can create your own definition of equality for type T, and specify that this definition be used with a collection type that accepts the IEqualityComparer<T> generic interface. In the .NET Framework, constructors of the Dictionary<TKey,TValue> generic collection type accept this interface.
A default implementation of this interface is provided by the Default property of the EqualityComparer<T> generic class. The StringComparer class implements IEqualityComparer<T> of type String.
This interface supports only equality comparisons. Customization of comparisons for sorting and ordering is provided by the IComparer<T> generic interface.
We recommend that you derive from the EqualityComparer<T> class instead of implementing the IEqualityComparer<T> interface, because the EqualityComparer<T> class tests for equality using the IEquatable<T>.Equals method instead of the Object.Equals method. This is consistent with the Contains, IndexOf, LastIndexOf, and Remove methods of the Dictionary<TKey,TValue> class and other generic collections.
Methods
| Equals(T, T) |
Determines whether the specified objects are equal. |
| GetHashCode(T) |
Returns a hash code for the specified object. |