Java String compareTo() Method
Example
Compare two strings:
String myStr1 = "Hello";
String myStr2 = "Hello";
System.out.println(myStr1.compareTo(myStr2)); // Returns 0 because they are equal
Definition and Usage
The compareTo()
method compares two strings
lexicographically.
The comparison is based on the Unicode value of each character in the strings.
The method returns 0 if the string is equal to the other string. A value less than 0 is returned if the string is less than the other string (less characters) and a value greater than 0 if the string is greater than the other string (more characters).
Tip: Use compareToIgnoreCase() to compare two strings lexicographyically, ignoring lower case and upper case differences.
Tip: Use the equals() method to compare two strings without consideration of Unicode values.
Syntax
One of the following:
public int compareTo(String string2)
public int compareTo(Object object)
Parameter Values
Parameter | Description |
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string2 | A String , representing the other string to be compared |
object | An Object , representing an object to be compared |
Technical Details
Returns: | An int value: 0 if the string is equal to the other string.< 0 if the string is lexicographically less than the other string > 0 if the string is lexicographically greater than the other string (more characters) |
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❮ String Methods