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C# | StringComparer.Compare Method

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StringComparer.Compare Method is used to compare two objects or strings and returns an indication of their relative sort order. There are 2 methods in the overload list of this method:

  • Compare(Object, Object)
  • Compare(String, String)

Compare(Object, Object)

This method compares two objects and returns an indication of their relative sort order when overridden in a derived class.

Syntax:

public int Compare (object a, object b);

Here, a is the 1st object and b is the 2nd object to be compared with each other.

Returns: This method returns a signed integer that indicates the relative values of the object a and b. The values are returned according to the following table:

Value Meaning
Less than zero a precedes b in the sort order or a is null and b is not null.
Zero a is equal to b or a and b are both null.
Greater than zero a follows b in the sort order or b is null and a is not null.

Exception: This method will give ArgumentException if neither a nor b is a String object, and neither a nor b implements the IComparable interface.

Example:




// C# program to demonstrate the use of
// StringComparer.Compare(Object, Object)
// Method
using System;
using System.Collections;
  
class gfg {
  
    public class cmp : IComparer {
  
        // CaseInsensitiveComparer
        int IComparer.Compare(Object x, Object y)
        {
            return ((new CaseInsensitiveComparer()).Compare(x, y));
        }
    }
  
    // Main Method
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Initialize a string array.
        string[] arr = {"A", "E", "D", "C", "B"};
  
        // Display original array
        Console.WriteLine("Original array:");
        print(arr);
  
        // Sort the array using the default comparer.
        Array.Sort(arr);
        Console.WriteLine("Sort using sort function:");
        print(arr);
  
        // Sort the array using the comparer.
        Array.Sort(arr, new cmp());
        Console.WriteLine("Sorting using compare method :");
        print(arr);
    }
  
    // print function
    public static void print(IEnumerable list)
    {
        foreach(var v in list)
            Console.WriteLine(v);
  
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}


Output:

Original array:
A
E
D
C
B

Sort using sort function:
A
B
C
D
E

Sorting using compare method :
A
B
C
D
E

Compare(String, String)

This method compares two strings and returns an indication of their relative sort order when overridden in a derived class.

Syntax:

public abstract int Compare (string a, string b);

Here, a is the 1st string and b is the 2nd string to be compared with each other.

Returns: This method returns a signed integer that indicates the relative values of the object a and b. The values are returned according to the following table:

Value Meaning
Less than zero a precedes b in the sort order or a is null and b is not null.
Zero a is equal to b or a and b are both null.
Greater than zero a follows b in the sort order or b is null and a is not null.

Exception: This method will give ArgumentException if neither a nor b is a String object, and neither a nor b implements the IComparable interface.

Example:




// C# program to demonstrate the use of 
// StringComparer.Compare(String, String)
// Method
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
  
class GFG {
  
    // Main Method
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        string s1 = "geek";
        string s2 = "Geek";
  
        int st = 0;
  
        // Compare(string, string) method
        st = string.Compare(s1, s2);
  
        Console.WriteLine(st.ToString());
    }
}


Output:

-1

Reference:



Last Updated : 30 Jun, 2019
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