IEqualityComparer<T> Interface

Definition

Defines methods to support the comparison of objects for equality.

C#
public interface IEqualityComparer<in T>
C#
public interface IEqualityComparer<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.

C#
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.

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.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also