Related
I wanted to clarify if I understand this correctly:
== is a reference comparison, i.e. both objects point to the same memory location
.equals() evaluates to the comparison of values in the objects
In general, the answer to your question is "yes", but...
.equals(...) will only compare what it is written to compare, no more, no less.
If a class does not override the equals method, then it defaults to the equals(Object o) method of the closest parent class that has overridden this method.
If no parent classes have provided an override, then it defaults to the method from the ultimate parent class, Object, and so you're left with the Object#equals(Object o) method. Per the Object API this is the same as ==; that is, it returns true if and only if both variables refer to the same object, if their references are one and the same. Thus you will be testing for object equality and not functional equality.
Always remember to override hashCode if you override equals so as not to "break the contract". As per the API, the result returned from the hashCode() method for two objects must be the same if their equals methods show that they are equivalent. The converse is not necessarily true.
With respect to the String class:
The equals() method compares the "value" inside String instances (on the heap) irrespective if the two object references refer to the same String instance or not. If any two object references of type String refer to the same String instance then great! If the two object references refer to two different String instances .. it doesn't make a difference. Its the "value" (that is: the contents of the character array) inside each String instance that is being compared.
On the other hand, the "==" operator compares the value of two object references to see whether they refer to the same String instance. If the value of both object references "refer to" the same String instance then the result of the boolean expression would be "true"..duh. If, on the other hand, the value of both object references "refer to" different String instances (even though both String instances have identical "values", that is, the contents of the character arrays of each String instance are the same) the result of the boolean expression would be "false".
As with any explanation, let it sink in.
I hope this clears things up a bit.
There are some small differences depending whether you are talking about "primitives" or "Object Types"; the same can be said if you are talking about "static" or "non-static" members; you can also mix all the above...
Here is an example (you can run it):
public final class MyEqualityTest
{
public static void main( String args[] )
{
String s1 = new String( "Test" );
String s2 = new String( "Test" );
System.out.println( "\n1 - PRIMITIVES ");
System.out.println( s1 == s2 ); // false
System.out.println( s1.equals( s2 )); // true
A a1 = new A();
A a2 = new A();
System.out.println( "\n2 - OBJECT TYPES / STATIC VARIABLE" );
System.out.println( a1 == a2 ); // false
System.out.println( a1.s == a2.s ); // true
System.out.println( a1.s.equals( a2.s ) ); // true
B b1 = new B();
B b2 = new B();
System.out.println( "\n3 - OBJECT TYPES / NON-STATIC VARIABLE" );
System.out.println( b1 == b2 ); // false
System.out.println( b1.getS() == b2.getS() ); // false
System.out.println( b1.getS().equals( b2.getS() ) ); // true
}
}
final class A
{
// static
public static String s;
A()
{
this.s = new String( "aTest" );
}
}
final class B
{
private String s;
B()
{
this.s = new String( "aTest" );
}
public String getS()
{
return s;
}
}
You can compare the explanations for "==" (Equality Operator) and ".equals(...)" (method in the java.lang.Object class) through these links:
==: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/op2.html
.equals(...): http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/Object.html#equals(java.lang.Object)
The difference between == and equals confused me for sometime until I decided to have a closer look at it.
Many of them say that for comparing string you should use equals and not ==. Hope in this answer I will be able to say the difference.
The best way to answer this question will be by asking a few questions to yourself. so let's start:
What is the output for the below program:
String mango = "mango";
String mango2 = "mango";
System.out.println(mango != mango2);
System.out.println(mango == mango2);
if you say,
false
true
I will say you are right but why did you say that?
and If you say the output is,
true
false
I will say you are wrong but I will still ask you, why you think that is right?
Ok, Let's try to answer this one:
What is the output for the below program:
String mango = "mango";
String mango3 = new String("mango");
System.out.println(mango != mango3);
System.out.println(mango == mango3);
Now If you say,
false
true
I will say you are wrong but why is it wrong now?
the correct output for this program is
true
false
Please compare the above program and try to think about it.
Ok. Now this might help (please read this : print the address of object - not possible but still we can use it.)
String mango = "mango";
String mango2 = "mango";
String mango3 = new String("mango");
System.out.println(mango != mango2);
System.out.println(mango == mango2);
System.out.println(mango3 != mango2);
System.out.println(mango3 == mango2);
// mango2 = "mang";
System.out.println(mango+" "+ mango2);
System.out.println(mango != mango2);
System.out.println(mango == mango2);
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(mango));
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(mango2));
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(mango3));
can you just try to think about the output of the last three lines in the code above:
for me ideone printed this out (you can check the code here):
false
true
true
false
mango mango
false
true
17225372
17225372
5433634
Oh! Now you see the identityHashCode(mango) is equal to identityHashCode(mango2) But it is not equal to identityHashCode(mango3)
Even though all the string variables - mango, mango2 and mango3 - have the same value, which is "mango", identityHashCode() is still not the same for all.
Now try to uncomment this line // mango2 = "mang"; and run it again this time you will see all three identityHashCode() are different.
Hmm that is a helpful hint
we know that if hashcode(x)=N and hashcode(y)=N => x is equal to y
I am not sure how java works internally but I assume this is what happened when I said:
mango = "mango";
java created a string "mango" which was pointed(referenced) by the variable mango something like this
mango ----> "mango"
Now in the next line when I said:
mango2 = "mango";
It actually reused the same string "mango" which looks something like this
mango ----> "mango" <---- mango2
Both mango and mango2 pointing to the same reference
Now when I said
mango3 = new String("mango")
It actually created a completely new reference(string) for "mango". which looks something like this,
mango -----> "mango" <------ mango2
mango3 ------> "mango"
and that's why when I put out the values for mango == mango2, it put out true. and when I put out the value for mango3 == mango2, it put out false (even when the values were the same).
and when you uncommented the line // mango2 = "mang";
It actually created a string "mang" which turned our graph like this:
mango ---->"mango"
mango2 ----> "mang"
mango3 -----> "mango"
This is why the identityHashCode is not the same for all.
Hope this helps you guys.
Actually, I wanted to generate a test case where == fails and equals() pass.
Please feel free to comment and let me know If I am wrong.
The == operator tests whether two variables have the same references
(aka pointer to a memory address).
String foo = new String("abc");
String bar = new String("abc");
if(foo==bar)
// False (The objects are not the same)
bar = foo;
if(foo==bar)
// True (Now the objects are the same)
Whereas the equals() method tests whether two variables refer to objects
that have the same state (values).
String foo = new String("abc");
String bar = new String("abc");
if(foo.equals(bar))
// True (The objects are identical but not same)
Cheers :-)
You will have to override the equals function (along with others) to use this with custom classes.
The equals method compares the objects.
The == binary operator compares memory addresses.
== is an operator and equals() is a method.
Operators are generally used for primitive type comparisons and thus == is used for memory address comparison and equals() method is used for comparing objects.
String w1 ="Sarat";
String w2 ="Sarat";
String w3 = new String("Sarat");
System.out.println(w1.hashCode()); //3254818
System.out.println(w2.hashCode()); //3254818
System.out.println(w3.hashCode()); //3254818
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(w1)); //prints 705927765
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(w2)); //prints 705927765
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(w3)); //prints 366712642
if(w1==w2) // (705927765==705927765)
{
System.out.println("true");
}
else
{
System.out.println("false");
}
//prints true
if(w2==w3) // (705927765==366712642)
{
System.out.println("true");
}
else
{
System.out.println("false");
}
//prints false
if(w2.equals(w3)) // (Content of 705927765== Content of 366712642)
{
System.out.println("true");
}
else
{
System.out.println("false");
}
//prints true
Both == and .equals() refers to the same object if you don't override .equals().
Its your wish what you want to do once you override .equals(). You can compare the invoking object's state with the passed in object's state or you can just call super.equals()
Here is a general thumb of rule for the difference between relational operator == and the method .equals().
object1 == object2 compares if the objects referenced by object1 and object2 refer to the same memory location in Heap.
object1.equals(object2) compares the values of object1 and object2 regardless of where they are located in memory.
This can be demonstrated well using String
Scenario 1
public class Conditionals {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String str1 = "Hello";
String str2 = new String("Hello");
System.out.println("is str1 == str2 ? " + (str1 == str2 ));
System.out.println("is str1.equals(str2) ? " + (str1.equals(str2 )));
}
}
The result is
is str1 == str2 ? false
is str1.equals(str2) ? true
Scenario 2
public class Conditionals {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String str1 = "Hello";
String str2 = "Hello";
System.out.println("is str1 == str2 ? " + (str1 == str2 ));
System.out.println("is str1.equals(str2) ? " + (str1.equals(str2 )));
}
}
The result is
is str1 == str2 ? true
is str1.equals(str2) ? true
This string comparison could be used as a basis for comparing other types of object.
For instance if I have a Person class, I need to define the criteria base on which I will compare two persons. Let's say this person class has instance variables of height and weight.
So creating person objects person1 and person2 and for comparing these two using the .equals() I need to override the equals method of the person class to define based on which instance variables(heigh or weight) the comparison will be.
However, the == operator will still return results based on the memory location of the two objects(person1 and person2).
For ease of generalizing this person object comparison, I have created the following test class. Experimenting on these concepts will reveal tons of facts.
package com.tadtab.CS5044;
public class Person {
private double height;
private double weight;
public double getHeight() {
return height;
}
public void setHeight(double height) {
this.height = height;
}
public double getWeight() {
return weight;
}
public void setWeight(double weight) {
this.weight = weight;
}
#Override
public int hashCode() {
final int prime = 31;
int result = 1;
long temp;
temp = Double.doubleToLongBits(height);
result = prime * result + (int) (temp ^ (temp >>> 32));
return result;
}
#Override
/**
* This method uses the height as a means of comparing person objects.
* NOTE: weight is not part of the comparison criteria
*/
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (this == obj)
return true;
if (obj == null)
return false;
if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
return false;
Person other = (Person) obj;
if (Double.doubleToLongBits(height) != Double.doubleToLongBits(other.height))
return false;
return true;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Person person1 = new Person();
person1.setHeight(5.50);
person1.setWeight(140.00);
Person person2 = new Person();
person2.setHeight(5.70);
person2.setWeight(160.00);
Person person3 = new Person();
person3 = person2;
Person person4 = new Person();
person4.setHeight(5.70);
Person person5 = new Person();
person5.setWeight(160.00);
System.out.println("is person1 == person2 ? " + (person1 == person2)); // false;
System.out.println("is person2 == person3 ? " + (person2 == person3)); // true
//this is because perosn3 and person to refer to the one person object in memory. They are aliases;
System.out.println("is person2.equals(person3) ? " + (person2.equals(person3))); // true;
System.out.println("is person2.equals(person4) ? " + (person2.equals(person4))); // true;
// even if the person2 and person5 have the same weight, they are not equal.
// it is because their height is different
System.out.println("is person2.equals(person4) ? " + (person2.equals(person5))); // false;
}
}
Result of this class execution is:
is person1 == person2 ? false
is person2 == person3 ? true
is person2.equals(person3) ? true
is person2.equals(person4) ? true
is person2.equals(person4) ? false
Just remember that .equals(...) has to be implemented by the class you are trying to compare. Otherwise, there isn't much of a point; the version of the method for the Object class does the same thing as the comparison operation: Object#equals.
The only time you really want to use the comparison operator for objects is wen you are comparing Enums. This is because there is only one instance of an Enum value at a time. For instance, given the enum
enum FooEnum {A, B, C}
You will never have more than one instance of A at a time, and the same for B and C. This means that you can actually write a method like so:
public boolean compareFoos(FooEnum x, FooEnum y)
{
return (x == y);
}
And you will have no problems whatsoever.
When you evaluate the code, it is very clear that (==) compares according to memory address, while equals(Object o) compares hashCode() of the instances.
That's why it is said do not break the contract between equals() and hashCode() if you do not face surprises later.
String s1 = new String("Ali");
String s2 = new String("Veli");
String s3 = new String("Ali");
System.out.println(s1.hashCode());
System.out.println(s2.hashCode());
System.out.println(s3.hashCode());
System.out.println("(s1==s2):" + (s1 == s2));
System.out.println("(s1==s3):" + (s1 == s3));
System.out.println("s1.equals(s2):" + (s1.equals(s2)));
System.out.println("s1.equal(s3):" + (s1.equals(s3)));
/*Output
96670
3615852
96670
(s1==s2):false
(s1==s3):false
s1.equals(s2):false
s1.equal(s3):true
*/
The major difference between == and equals() is
1) == is used to compare primitives.
For example :
String string1 = "Ravi";
String string2 = "Ravi";
String string3 = new String("Ravi");
String string4 = new String("Prakash");
System.out.println(string1 == string2); // true because same reference in string pool
System.out.println(string1 == string3); // false
2) equals() is used to compare objects.
For example :
System.out.println(string1.equals(string2)); // true equals() comparison of values in the objects
System.out.println(string1.equals(string3)); // true
System.out.println(string1.equals(string4)); // false
Example 1 -
Both == and .equals methods are there for reference comparison only. It means whether both objects are referring to same object or not.
Object class equals method implementation
public class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String []args){
Object ob1 = new Object();
Object ob2 = ob1;
System.out.println(ob1 == ob2); // true
System.out.println(ob1.equals(ob2)); // true
}
}
Example 2 -
But if we wants to compare objects content using equals method then class has to override object's class equals() method and provide implementation for content comparison. Here, String class has overrided equals method for content comparison. All wrapper classes have overrided equals method for content comparison.
String class equals method implementation
public class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String []args){
String ob1 = new String("Hi");
String ob2 = new String("Hi");
System.out.println(ob1 == ob2); // false (Both references are referring two different objects)
System.out.println(ob1.equals(ob2)); // true
}
}
Example 3 -
In case of String, there is one more usecase. Here when we assign any string to String reference then string constant is created inside String constant pool. If we assign same string to new String reference then no new string constant is created rather it will refer to existing string constant.
public class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String []args){
String ob1 = "Hi";
String ob2 = "Hi";
System.out.println(ob1 == ob2); // true
System.out.println(ob1.equals(ob2)); // true
}
}
Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.
Java API equals() method contract
Also note that .equals() normally contains == for testing as this is the first thing you would wish to test for if you wanted to test if two objects are equal.
And == actually does look at values for primitive types, for objects it checks the reference.
== operator always reference is compared. But in case of
equals() method
it's depends's on implementation if we are overridden equals method than it compares object on basic of implementation given in overridden method.
class A
{
int id;
String str;
public A(int id,String str)
{
this.id=id;
this.str=str;
}
public static void main(String arg[])
{
A obj=new A(101,"sam");
A obj1=new A(101,"sam");
obj.equals(obj1)//fasle
obj==obj1 // fasle
}
}
in above code both obj and obj1 object contains same data but reference is not same so equals return false and == also.
but if we overridden equals method than
class A
{
int id;
String str;
public A(int id,String str)
{
this.id=id;
this.str=str;
}
public boolean equals(Object obj)
{
A a1=(A)obj;
return this.id==a1.id;
}
public static void main(String arg[])
{
A obj=new A(101,"sam");
A obj1=new A(101,"sam");
obj.equals(obj1)//true
obj==obj1 // fasle
}
}
know check out it will return true and false for same case only we overridden
equals method .
it compare object on basic of content(id) of object
but ==
still compare references of object.
== can be used in many object types but you can use Object.equals for any type , especially Strings and Google Map Markers.
public class StringPool {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s1 = "Cat";// will create reference in string pool of heap memory
String s2 = "Cat";
String s3 = new String("Cat");//will create a object in heap memory
// Using == will give us true because same reference in string pool
if (s1 == s2) {
System.out.println("true");
} else {
System.out.println("false");
}
// Using == with reference and Object will give us False
if (s1 == s3) {
System.out.println("true");
} else {
System.out.println("false");
}
// Using .equals method which refers to value
if (s1.equals(s3)) {
System.out.println("true");
} else {
System.out.println("False");
}
}
}
----Output-----
true
false
true
It may be worth adding that for wrapper objects for primitive types - i.e. Int, Long, Double - == will return true if the two values are equal.
Long a = 10L;
Long b = 10L;
if (a == b) {
System.out.println("Wrapped primitives behave like values");
}
To contrast, putting the above two Longs into two separate ArrayLists, equals sees them as the same, but == doesn't.
ArrayList<Long> c = new ArrayList<>();
ArrayList<Long> d = new ArrayList<>();
c.add(a);
d.add(b);
if (c == d) System.out.println("No way!");
if (c.equals(d)) System.out.println("Yes, this is true.");
The String pool (aka interning) and Integer pool blur the difference further, and may allow you to use == for objects in some cases instead of .equals
This can give you greater performance (?), at the cost of greater complexity.
E.g.:
assert "ab" == "a" + "b";
Integer i = 1;
Integer j = i;
assert i == j;
Complexity tradeoff: the following may surprise you:
assert new String("a") != new String("a");
Integer i = 128;
Integer j = 128;
assert i != j;
I advise you to stay away from such micro-optimization, and always use .equals for objects, and == for primitives:
assert (new String("a")).equals(new String("a"));
Integer i = 128;
Integer j = 128;
assert i.equals(j);
In short, the answer is "Yes".
In Java, the == operator compares the two objects to see if they point to the same memory location; while the .equals() method actually compares the two objects to see if they have the same object value.
It is the difference between identity and equivalence.
a == b means that a and b are identical, that is, they are symbols for very same object in memory.
a.equals( b ) means that they are equivalent, that they are symbols for objects that in some sense have the same value -- although those objects may occupy different places in memory.
Note that with equivalence, the question of how to evaluate and compare objects comes into play -- complex objects may be regarded as equivalent for practical purposes even though some of their contents differ. With identity, there is no such question.
Since Java doesn’t support operator overloading, == behaves identical
for every object but equals() is method, which can be overridden in
Java and logic to compare objects can be changed based upon business
rules.
Main difference between == and equals in Java is that "==" is used to
compare primitives while equals() method is recommended to check
equality of objects.
String comparison is a common scenario of using both == and equals() method. Since java.lang.String class override equals method, It
return true if two String object contains same content but == will
only return true if two references are pointing to same object.
Here is an example of comparing two Strings in Java for equality using == and equals() method which will clear some doubts:
public class TEstT{
public static void main(String[] args) {
String text1 = new String("apple");
String text2 = new String("apple");
//since two strings are different object result should be false
boolean result = text1 == text2;
System.out.println("Comparing two strings with == operator: " + result);
//since strings contains same content , equals() should return true
result = text1.equals(text2);
System.out.println("Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: " + result);
text2 = text1;
//since both text2 and text1d reference variable are pointing to same object
//"==" should return true
result = (text1 == text2);
System.out.println("Comparing two reference pointing to same String with == operator: " + result);
}
}
Basically, == compares if two objects have the same reference on the heap, so unless two references are linked to the same object, this comparison will be false.
equals() is a method inherited from Object class. This method by default compares if two objects have the same referece. It means:
object1.equals(object2) <=> object1 == object2
However, if you want to establish equality between two objects of the same class you should override this method. It is also very important to override the method hashCode() if you have overriden equals().
Implement hashCode() when establishing equality is part of the Java Object Contract. If you are working with collections, and you haven't implemented hashCode(), Strange Bad Things could happen:
HashMap<Cat, String> cats = new HashMap<>();
Cat cat = new Cat("molly");
cats.put(cat, "This is a cool cat");
System.out.println(cats.get(new Cat("molly"));
null will be printed after executing the previous code if you haven't implemented hashCode().
In simple words, == checks if both objects point to the same memory location whereas .equals() evaluates to the comparison of values in the objects.
equals() method mainly compares the original content of the object.
If we Write
String s1 = "Samim";
String s2 = "Samim";
String s3 = new String("Samim");
String s4 = new String("Samim");
System.out.println(s1.equals(s2));
System.out.println(s2.equals(s3));
System.out.println(s3.equals(s4));
The output will be
true
true
true
Because equals() method compare the content of the object.
in first System.out.println() the content of s1 and s2 is same that's why it print true.
And it is same for others two System.out.println() is true.
Again ,
String s1 = "Samim";
String s2 = "Samim";
String s3 = new String("Samim");
String s4 = new String("Samim");
System.out.println(s1 == s2);
System.out.println(s2 == s3);
System.out.println(s3 == s4);
The output will be
true
false
false
Because == operator mainly compare the references of the object not the value.
In first System.out.println(), the references of s1 and s2 is same thats why it returns true.
In second System.out.println(), s3 object is created , thats why another reference of s3 will create , and the references of s2 and s3 will difference, for this reason it return "false".
Third System.out.println(), follow the rules of second System.out.println(), that's why it will return "false".
I constructed a class with one String field. Then I created two objects and I have to compare them using == operator and .equals() too. Here's what I've done:
public class MyClass {
String a;
public MyClass(String ab) {
a = ab;
}
public boolean equals(Object object2) {
if(a == object2) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2)) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyClass object1 = new MyClass("test");
MyClass object2 = new MyClass("test");
object1.equals(object2);
System.out.println(object1.equals(object2));
object1.equals2(object2);
System.out.println(object1.equals2(object2));
}
}
After compile it shows two times false as a result. Why is it false if the two objects have the same fields - "test"?
== compares object references, it checks to see if the two operands point to the same object (not equivalent objects, the same object).
If you want to compare strings (to see if they contain the same characters), you need to compare the strings using equals.
In your case, if two instances of MyClass really are considered equal if the strings match, then:
public boolean equals(Object object2) {
return object2 instanceof MyClass && a.equals(((MyClass)object2).a);
}
...but usually if you are defining a class, there's more to equivalency than the equivalency of a single field (a in this case).
Side note: If you override equals, you almost always need to override hashCode. As it says in the equals JavaDoc:
Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.
You should override equals
public boolean equals (Object obj) {
if (this==obj) return true;
if (this == null) return false;
if (this.getClass() != obj.getClass()) return false;
// Class name is Employ & have lastname
Employe emp = (Employee) obj ;
return this.lastname.equals(emp.getlastname());
}
The best way to compare 2 objects is by converting them into json strings and compare the strings, its the easiest solution when dealing with complicated nested objects, fields and/or objects that contain arrays.
sample:
import com.google.gson.Gson;
Object a = // ...;
Object b = //...;
String objectString1 = new Gson().toJson(a);
String objectString2 = new Gson().toJson(b);
if(objectString1.equals(objectString2)){
//do this
}
The overwrite function equals() is wrong.
The object "a" is an instance of the String class and "object2" is an instance of the MyClass class. They are different classes, so the answer is "false".
It looks like equals2 is just calling equals, so it will give the same results.
Your equals2() method always will return the same as equals() !!
Your code with my comments:
public boolean equals2(Object object2) { // equals2 method
if(a.equals(object2)) { // if equals() method returns true
return true; // return true
}
else return false; // if equals() method returns false, also return false
}
The "==" operator returns true only if the two references pointing to the same object in memory. The equals() method on the other hand returns true based on the contents of the object.
Example:
String personalLoan = new String("cheap personal loans");
String homeLoan = new String("cheap personal loans");
//since two strings are different object result should be false
boolean result = personalLoan == homeLoan;
System.out.println("Comparing two strings with == operator: " + result);
//since strings contains same content , equals() should return true
result = personalLoan.equals(homeLoan);
System.out.println("Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: " + result);
homeLoan = personalLoan;
//since both homeLoan and personalLoan reference variable are pointing to same object
//"==" should return true
result = (personalLoan == homeLoan);
System.out.println("Comparing two reference pointing to same String with == operator: " + result);
Output:
Comparing two strings with == operator: false
Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: true
Comparing two references pointing to same String with == operator: true
You can also get more details from the link: http://javarevisited.blogspot.in/2012/12/difference-between-equals-method-and-equality-operator-java.html?m=1
Statements a == object2 and a.equals(object2) both will always return false because a is a string while object2 is an instance of MyClass
Your implementation must like:
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2.a)) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
With this implementation your both methods would work.
If you dont need to customize the default toString() function, another way is to override toString() method, which returns all attributes to be compared. then compare toString() output of two objects. I generated toString() method using IntelliJ IDEA IDE, which includes class name in the string.
public class Greeting {
private String greeting;
#Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (this == obj) return true;
return this.toString().equals(obj.toString());
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return "Greeting{" +
"greeting='" + greeting + '\'' +
'}';
}
}
Your class might implement the Comparable interface to achieve the same functionality. Your class should implement the compareTo() method declared in the interface.
public class MyClass implements Comparable<MyClass>{
String a;
public MyClass(String ab){
a = ab;
}
// returns an int not a boolean
public int compareTo(MyClass someMyClass){
/* The String class implements a compareTo method, returning a 0
if the two strings are identical, instead of a boolean.
Since 'a' is a string, it has the compareTo method which we call
in MyClass's compareTo method.
*/
return this.a.compareTo(someMyClass.a);
}
public static void main(String[] args){
MyClass object1 = new MyClass("test");
MyClass object2 = new MyClass("test");
if(object1.compareTo(object2) == 0){
System.out.println("true");
}
else{
System.out.println("false");
}
}
}
the return type of object.equals is already boolean.
there's no need to wrap it in a method with branches. so if you want to compare 2 objects simply compare them:
boolean b = objectA.equals(objectB);
b is already either true or false.
When we use == , the Reference of object is compared not the actual objects. We need to override equals method to compare Java Objects.
Some additional information C++ has operator over loading & Java does not provide operator over loading.
Also other possibilities in java are implement Compare Interface .which defines a compareTo method.
Comparator interface is also used compare two objects
Here the output will be false , false beacuse in first sopln statement you are trying to compare a string type varible of Myclass type to the other MyClass type and it will allow because of both are Object type and you have used "==" oprerator which will check the reference variable value holding the actual memory not the actual contnets inside the memory .
In the second sopln also it is the same as you are again calling a.equals(object2) where a is a varible inside object1 . Do let me know your findings on this .
In short, == compares two POINTERS.
If the two pointers are equal, then they both point to same object in memory (which, obviously has the same value as itself).
However, .equals will compare the VALUES of whatever is pointed to, returning true iff they both evaluate to the same value.
Thus, two separate strings (i.e., at different addresses in memory) are always != but are .equal iff they contain the same (null-terminated) sequence of chars.
IN the below code you are calling the overriden method .equals().
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2)) { // here you are calling the overriden method, that is why you getting false 2 times.
return true;
}
else return false;
}
I constructed a class with one String field. Then I created two objects and I have to compare them using == operator and .equals() too. Here's what I've done:
public class MyClass {
String a;
public MyClass(String ab) {
a = ab;
}
public boolean equals(Object object2) {
if(a == object2) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2)) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyClass object1 = new MyClass("test");
MyClass object2 = new MyClass("test");
object1.equals(object2);
System.out.println(object1.equals(object2));
object1.equals2(object2);
System.out.println(object1.equals2(object2));
}
}
After compile it shows two times false as a result. Why is it false if the two objects have the same fields - "test"?
== compares object references, it checks to see if the two operands point to the same object (not equivalent objects, the same object).
If you want to compare strings (to see if they contain the same characters), you need to compare the strings using equals.
In your case, if two instances of MyClass really are considered equal if the strings match, then:
public boolean equals(Object object2) {
return object2 instanceof MyClass && a.equals(((MyClass)object2).a);
}
...but usually if you are defining a class, there's more to equivalency than the equivalency of a single field (a in this case).
Side note: If you override equals, you almost always need to override hashCode. As it says in the equals JavaDoc:
Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.
You should override equals
public boolean equals (Object obj) {
if (this==obj) return true;
if (this == null) return false;
if (this.getClass() != obj.getClass()) return false;
// Class name is Employ & have lastname
Employe emp = (Employee) obj ;
return this.lastname.equals(emp.getlastname());
}
The best way to compare 2 objects is by converting them into json strings and compare the strings, its the easiest solution when dealing with complicated nested objects, fields and/or objects that contain arrays.
sample:
import com.google.gson.Gson;
Object a = // ...;
Object b = //...;
String objectString1 = new Gson().toJson(a);
String objectString2 = new Gson().toJson(b);
if(objectString1.equals(objectString2)){
//do this
}
The overwrite function equals() is wrong.
The object "a" is an instance of the String class and "object2" is an instance of the MyClass class. They are different classes, so the answer is "false".
It looks like equals2 is just calling equals, so it will give the same results.
Your equals2() method always will return the same as equals() !!
Your code with my comments:
public boolean equals2(Object object2) { // equals2 method
if(a.equals(object2)) { // if equals() method returns true
return true; // return true
}
else return false; // if equals() method returns false, also return false
}
The "==" operator returns true only if the two references pointing to the same object in memory. The equals() method on the other hand returns true based on the contents of the object.
Example:
String personalLoan = new String("cheap personal loans");
String homeLoan = new String("cheap personal loans");
//since two strings are different object result should be false
boolean result = personalLoan == homeLoan;
System.out.println("Comparing two strings with == operator: " + result);
//since strings contains same content , equals() should return true
result = personalLoan.equals(homeLoan);
System.out.println("Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: " + result);
homeLoan = personalLoan;
//since both homeLoan and personalLoan reference variable are pointing to same object
//"==" should return true
result = (personalLoan == homeLoan);
System.out.println("Comparing two reference pointing to same String with == operator: " + result);
Output:
Comparing two strings with == operator: false
Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: true
Comparing two references pointing to same String with == operator: true
You can also get more details from the link: http://javarevisited.blogspot.in/2012/12/difference-between-equals-method-and-equality-operator-java.html?m=1
Statements a == object2 and a.equals(object2) both will always return false because a is a string while object2 is an instance of MyClass
Your implementation must like:
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2.a)) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
With this implementation your both methods would work.
If you dont need to customize the default toString() function, another way is to override toString() method, which returns all attributes to be compared. then compare toString() output of two objects. I generated toString() method using IntelliJ IDEA IDE, which includes class name in the string.
public class Greeting {
private String greeting;
#Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (this == obj) return true;
return this.toString().equals(obj.toString());
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return "Greeting{" +
"greeting='" + greeting + '\'' +
'}';
}
}
Your class might implement the Comparable interface to achieve the same functionality. Your class should implement the compareTo() method declared in the interface.
public class MyClass implements Comparable<MyClass>{
String a;
public MyClass(String ab){
a = ab;
}
// returns an int not a boolean
public int compareTo(MyClass someMyClass){
/* The String class implements a compareTo method, returning a 0
if the two strings are identical, instead of a boolean.
Since 'a' is a string, it has the compareTo method which we call
in MyClass's compareTo method.
*/
return this.a.compareTo(someMyClass.a);
}
public static void main(String[] args){
MyClass object1 = new MyClass("test");
MyClass object2 = new MyClass("test");
if(object1.compareTo(object2) == 0){
System.out.println("true");
}
else{
System.out.println("false");
}
}
}
the return type of object.equals is already boolean.
there's no need to wrap it in a method with branches. so if you want to compare 2 objects simply compare them:
boolean b = objectA.equals(objectB);
b is already either true or false.
When we use == , the Reference of object is compared not the actual objects. We need to override equals method to compare Java Objects.
Some additional information C++ has operator over loading & Java does not provide operator over loading.
Also other possibilities in java are implement Compare Interface .which defines a compareTo method.
Comparator interface is also used compare two objects
Here the output will be false , false beacuse in first sopln statement you are trying to compare a string type varible of Myclass type to the other MyClass type and it will allow because of both are Object type and you have used "==" oprerator which will check the reference variable value holding the actual memory not the actual contnets inside the memory .
In the second sopln also it is the same as you are again calling a.equals(object2) where a is a varible inside object1 . Do let me know your findings on this .
In short, == compares two POINTERS.
If the two pointers are equal, then they both point to same object in memory (which, obviously has the same value as itself).
However, .equals will compare the VALUES of whatever is pointed to, returning true iff they both evaluate to the same value.
Thus, two separate strings (i.e., at different addresses in memory) are always != but are .equal iff they contain the same (null-terminated) sequence of chars.
IN the below code you are calling the overriden method .equals().
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2)) { // here you are calling the overriden method, that is why you getting false 2 times.
return true;
}
else return false;
}
I wanted to clarify if I understand this correctly:
== is a reference comparison, i.e. both objects point to the same memory location
.equals() evaluates to the comparison of values in the objects
In general, the answer to your question is "yes", but...
.equals(...) will only compare what it is written to compare, no more, no less.
If a class does not override the equals method, then it defaults to the equals(Object o) method of the closest parent class that has overridden this method.
If no parent classes have provided an override, then it defaults to the method from the ultimate parent class, Object, and so you're left with the Object#equals(Object o) method. Per the Object API this is the same as ==; that is, it returns true if and only if both variables refer to the same object, if their references are one and the same. Thus you will be testing for object equality and not functional equality.
Always remember to override hashCode if you override equals so as not to "break the contract". As per the API, the result returned from the hashCode() method for two objects must be the same if their equals methods show that they are equivalent. The converse is not necessarily true.
With respect to the String class:
The equals() method compares the "value" inside String instances (on the heap) irrespective if the two object references refer to the same String instance or not. If any two object references of type String refer to the same String instance then great! If the two object references refer to two different String instances .. it doesn't make a difference. Its the "value" (that is: the contents of the character array) inside each String instance that is being compared.
On the other hand, the "==" operator compares the value of two object references to see whether they refer to the same String instance. If the value of both object references "refer to" the same String instance then the result of the boolean expression would be "true"..duh. If, on the other hand, the value of both object references "refer to" different String instances (even though both String instances have identical "values", that is, the contents of the character arrays of each String instance are the same) the result of the boolean expression would be "false".
As with any explanation, let it sink in.
I hope this clears things up a bit.
There are some small differences depending whether you are talking about "primitives" or "Object Types"; the same can be said if you are talking about "static" or "non-static" members; you can also mix all the above...
Here is an example (you can run it):
public final class MyEqualityTest
{
public static void main( String args[] )
{
String s1 = new String( "Test" );
String s2 = new String( "Test" );
System.out.println( "\n1 - PRIMITIVES ");
System.out.println( s1 == s2 ); // false
System.out.println( s1.equals( s2 )); // true
A a1 = new A();
A a2 = new A();
System.out.println( "\n2 - OBJECT TYPES / STATIC VARIABLE" );
System.out.println( a1 == a2 ); // false
System.out.println( a1.s == a2.s ); // true
System.out.println( a1.s.equals( a2.s ) ); // true
B b1 = new B();
B b2 = new B();
System.out.println( "\n3 - OBJECT TYPES / NON-STATIC VARIABLE" );
System.out.println( b1 == b2 ); // false
System.out.println( b1.getS() == b2.getS() ); // false
System.out.println( b1.getS().equals( b2.getS() ) ); // true
}
}
final class A
{
// static
public static String s;
A()
{
this.s = new String( "aTest" );
}
}
final class B
{
private String s;
B()
{
this.s = new String( "aTest" );
}
public String getS()
{
return s;
}
}
You can compare the explanations for "==" (Equality Operator) and ".equals(...)" (method in the java.lang.Object class) through these links:
==: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/op2.html
.equals(...): http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/Object.html#equals(java.lang.Object)
The difference between == and equals confused me for sometime until I decided to have a closer look at it.
Many of them say that for comparing string you should use equals and not ==. Hope in this answer I will be able to say the difference.
The best way to answer this question will be by asking a few questions to yourself. so let's start:
What is the output for the below program:
String mango = "mango";
String mango2 = "mango";
System.out.println(mango != mango2);
System.out.println(mango == mango2);
if you say,
false
true
I will say you are right but why did you say that?
and If you say the output is,
true
false
I will say you are wrong but I will still ask you, why you think that is right?
Ok, Let's try to answer this one:
What is the output for the below program:
String mango = "mango";
String mango3 = new String("mango");
System.out.println(mango != mango3);
System.out.println(mango == mango3);
Now If you say,
false
true
I will say you are wrong but why is it wrong now?
the correct output for this program is
true
false
Please compare the above program and try to think about it.
Ok. Now this might help (please read this : print the address of object - not possible but still we can use it.)
String mango = "mango";
String mango2 = "mango";
String mango3 = new String("mango");
System.out.println(mango != mango2);
System.out.println(mango == mango2);
System.out.println(mango3 != mango2);
System.out.println(mango3 == mango2);
// mango2 = "mang";
System.out.println(mango+" "+ mango2);
System.out.println(mango != mango2);
System.out.println(mango == mango2);
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(mango));
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(mango2));
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(mango3));
can you just try to think about the output of the last three lines in the code above:
for me ideone printed this out (you can check the code here):
false
true
true
false
mango mango
false
true
17225372
17225372
5433634
Oh! Now you see the identityHashCode(mango) is equal to identityHashCode(mango2) But it is not equal to identityHashCode(mango3)
Even though all the string variables - mango, mango2 and mango3 - have the same value, which is "mango", identityHashCode() is still not the same for all.
Now try to uncomment this line // mango2 = "mang"; and run it again this time you will see all three identityHashCode() are different.
Hmm that is a helpful hint
we know that if hashcode(x)=N and hashcode(y)=N => x is equal to y
I am not sure how java works internally but I assume this is what happened when I said:
mango = "mango";
java created a string "mango" which was pointed(referenced) by the variable mango something like this
mango ----> "mango"
Now in the next line when I said:
mango2 = "mango";
It actually reused the same string "mango" which looks something like this
mango ----> "mango" <---- mango2
Both mango and mango2 pointing to the same reference
Now when I said
mango3 = new String("mango")
It actually created a completely new reference(string) for "mango". which looks something like this,
mango -----> "mango" <------ mango2
mango3 ------> "mango"
and that's why when I put out the values for mango == mango2, it put out true. and when I put out the value for mango3 == mango2, it put out false (even when the values were the same).
and when you uncommented the line // mango2 = "mang";
It actually created a string "mang" which turned our graph like this:
mango ---->"mango"
mango2 ----> "mang"
mango3 -----> "mango"
This is why the identityHashCode is not the same for all.
Hope this helps you guys.
Actually, I wanted to generate a test case where == fails and equals() pass.
Please feel free to comment and let me know If I am wrong.
The == operator tests whether two variables have the same references
(aka pointer to a memory address).
String foo = new String("abc");
String bar = new String("abc");
if(foo==bar)
// False (The objects are not the same)
bar = foo;
if(foo==bar)
// True (Now the objects are the same)
Whereas the equals() method tests whether two variables refer to objects
that have the same state (values).
String foo = new String("abc");
String bar = new String("abc");
if(foo.equals(bar))
// True (The objects are identical but not same)
Cheers :-)
You will have to override the equals function (along with others) to use this with custom classes.
The equals method compares the objects.
The == binary operator compares memory addresses.
== is an operator and equals() is a method.
Operators are generally used for primitive type comparisons and thus == is used for memory address comparison and equals() method is used for comparing objects.
String w1 ="Sarat";
String w2 ="Sarat";
String w3 = new String("Sarat");
System.out.println(w1.hashCode()); //3254818
System.out.println(w2.hashCode()); //3254818
System.out.println(w3.hashCode()); //3254818
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(w1)); //prints 705927765
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(w2)); //prints 705927765
System.out.println(System.identityHashCode(w3)); //prints 366712642
if(w1==w2) // (705927765==705927765)
{
System.out.println("true");
}
else
{
System.out.println("false");
}
//prints true
if(w2==w3) // (705927765==366712642)
{
System.out.println("true");
}
else
{
System.out.println("false");
}
//prints false
if(w2.equals(w3)) // (Content of 705927765== Content of 366712642)
{
System.out.println("true");
}
else
{
System.out.println("false");
}
//prints true
Both == and .equals() refers to the same object if you don't override .equals().
Its your wish what you want to do once you override .equals(). You can compare the invoking object's state with the passed in object's state or you can just call super.equals()
Here is a general thumb of rule for the difference between relational operator == and the method .equals().
object1 == object2 compares if the objects referenced by object1 and object2 refer to the same memory location in Heap.
object1.equals(object2) compares the values of object1 and object2 regardless of where they are located in memory.
This can be demonstrated well using String
Scenario 1
public class Conditionals {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String str1 = "Hello";
String str2 = new String("Hello");
System.out.println("is str1 == str2 ? " + (str1 == str2 ));
System.out.println("is str1.equals(str2) ? " + (str1.equals(str2 )));
}
}
The result is
is str1 == str2 ? false
is str1.equals(str2) ? true
Scenario 2
public class Conditionals {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String str1 = "Hello";
String str2 = "Hello";
System.out.println("is str1 == str2 ? " + (str1 == str2 ));
System.out.println("is str1.equals(str2) ? " + (str1.equals(str2 )));
}
}
The result is
is str1 == str2 ? true
is str1.equals(str2) ? true
This string comparison could be used as a basis for comparing other types of object.
For instance if I have a Person class, I need to define the criteria base on which I will compare two persons. Let's say this person class has instance variables of height and weight.
So creating person objects person1 and person2 and for comparing these two using the .equals() I need to override the equals method of the person class to define based on which instance variables(heigh or weight) the comparison will be.
However, the == operator will still return results based on the memory location of the two objects(person1 and person2).
For ease of generalizing this person object comparison, I have created the following test class. Experimenting on these concepts will reveal tons of facts.
package com.tadtab.CS5044;
public class Person {
private double height;
private double weight;
public double getHeight() {
return height;
}
public void setHeight(double height) {
this.height = height;
}
public double getWeight() {
return weight;
}
public void setWeight(double weight) {
this.weight = weight;
}
#Override
public int hashCode() {
final int prime = 31;
int result = 1;
long temp;
temp = Double.doubleToLongBits(height);
result = prime * result + (int) (temp ^ (temp >>> 32));
return result;
}
#Override
/**
* This method uses the height as a means of comparing person objects.
* NOTE: weight is not part of the comparison criteria
*/
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (this == obj)
return true;
if (obj == null)
return false;
if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
return false;
Person other = (Person) obj;
if (Double.doubleToLongBits(height) != Double.doubleToLongBits(other.height))
return false;
return true;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Person person1 = new Person();
person1.setHeight(5.50);
person1.setWeight(140.00);
Person person2 = new Person();
person2.setHeight(5.70);
person2.setWeight(160.00);
Person person3 = new Person();
person3 = person2;
Person person4 = new Person();
person4.setHeight(5.70);
Person person5 = new Person();
person5.setWeight(160.00);
System.out.println("is person1 == person2 ? " + (person1 == person2)); // false;
System.out.println("is person2 == person3 ? " + (person2 == person3)); // true
//this is because perosn3 and person to refer to the one person object in memory. They are aliases;
System.out.println("is person2.equals(person3) ? " + (person2.equals(person3))); // true;
System.out.println("is person2.equals(person4) ? " + (person2.equals(person4))); // true;
// even if the person2 and person5 have the same weight, they are not equal.
// it is because their height is different
System.out.println("is person2.equals(person4) ? " + (person2.equals(person5))); // false;
}
}
Result of this class execution is:
is person1 == person2 ? false
is person2 == person3 ? true
is person2.equals(person3) ? true
is person2.equals(person4) ? true
is person2.equals(person4) ? false
Just remember that .equals(...) has to be implemented by the class you are trying to compare. Otherwise, there isn't much of a point; the version of the method for the Object class does the same thing as the comparison operation: Object#equals.
The only time you really want to use the comparison operator for objects is wen you are comparing Enums. This is because there is only one instance of an Enum value at a time. For instance, given the enum
enum FooEnum {A, B, C}
You will never have more than one instance of A at a time, and the same for B and C. This means that you can actually write a method like so:
public boolean compareFoos(FooEnum x, FooEnum y)
{
return (x == y);
}
And you will have no problems whatsoever.
When you evaluate the code, it is very clear that (==) compares according to memory address, while equals(Object o) compares hashCode() of the instances.
That's why it is said do not break the contract between equals() and hashCode() if you do not face surprises later.
String s1 = new String("Ali");
String s2 = new String("Veli");
String s3 = new String("Ali");
System.out.println(s1.hashCode());
System.out.println(s2.hashCode());
System.out.println(s3.hashCode());
System.out.println("(s1==s2):" + (s1 == s2));
System.out.println("(s1==s3):" + (s1 == s3));
System.out.println("s1.equals(s2):" + (s1.equals(s2)));
System.out.println("s1.equal(s3):" + (s1.equals(s3)));
/*Output
96670
3615852
96670
(s1==s2):false
(s1==s3):false
s1.equals(s2):false
s1.equal(s3):true
*/
The major difference between == and equals() is
1) == is used to compare primitives.
For example :
String string1 = "Ravi";
String string2 = "Ravi";
String string3 = new String("Ravi");
String string4 = new String("Prakash");
System.out.println(string1 == string2); // true because same reference in string pool
System.out.println(string1 == string3); // false
2) equals() is used to compare objects.
For example :
System.out.println(string1.equals(string2)); // true equals() comparison of values in the objects
System.out.println(string1.equals(string3)); // true
System.out.println(string1.equals(string4)); // false
Example 1 -
Both == and .equals methods are there for reference comparison only. It means whether both objects are referring to same object or not.
Object class equals method implementation
public class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String []args){
Object ob1 = new Object();
Object ob2 = ob1;
System.out.println(ob1 == ob2); // true
System.out.println(ob1.equals(ob2)); // true
}
}
Example 2 -
But if we wants to compare objects content using equals method then class has to override object's class equals() method and provide implementation for content comparison. Here, String class has overrided equals method for content comparison. All wrapper classes have overrided equals method for content comparison.
String class equals method implementation
public class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String []args){
String ob1 = new String("Hi");
String ob2 = new String("Hi");
System.out.println(ob1 == ob2); // false (Both references are referring two different objects)
System.out.println(ob1.equals(ob2)); // true
}
}
Example 3 -
In case of String, there is one more usecase. Here when we assign any string to String reference then string constant is created inside String constant pool. If we assign same string to new String reference then no new string constant is created rather it will refer to existing string constant.
public class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String []args){
String ob1 = "Hi";
String ob2 = "Hi";
System.out.println(ob1 == ob2); // true
System.out.println(ob1.equals(ob2)); // true
}
}
Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.
Java API equals() method contract
Also note that .equals() normally contains == for testing as this is the first thing you would wish to test for if you wanted to test if two objects are equal.
And == actually does look at values for primitive types, for objects it checks the reference.
== operator always reference is compared. But in case of
equals() method
it's depends's on implementation if we are overridden equals method than it compares object on basic of implementation given in overridden method.
class A
{
int id;
String str;
public A(int id,String str)
{
this.id=id;
this.str=str;
}
public static void main(String arg[])
{
A obj=new A(101,"sam");
A obj1=new A(101,"sam");
obj.equals(obj1)//fasle
obj==obj1 // fasle
}
}
in above code both obj and obj1 object contains same data but reference is not same so equals return false and == also.
but if we overridden equals method than
class A
{
int id;
String str;
public A(int id,String str)
{
this.id=id;
this.str=str;
}
public boolean equals(Object obj)
{
A a1=(A)obj;
return this.id==a1.id;
}
public static void main(String arg[])
{
A obj=new A(101,"sam");
A obj1=new A(101,"sam");
obj.equals(obj1)//true
obj==obj1 // fasle
}
}
know check out it will return true and false for same case only we overridden
equals method .
it compare object on basic of content(id) of object
but ==
still compare references of object.
== can be used in many object types but you can use Object.equals for any type , especially Strings and Google Map Markers.
public class StringPool {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s1 = "Cat";// will create reference in string pool of heap memory
String s2 = "Cat";
String s3 = new String("Cat");//will create a object in heap memory
// Using == will give us true because same reference in string pool
if (s1 == s2) {
System.out.println("true");
} else {
System.out.println("false");
}
// Using == with reference and Object will give us False
if (s1 == s3) {
System.out.println("true");
} else {
System.out.println("false");
}
// Using .equals method which refers to value
if (s1.equals(s3)) {
System.out.println("true");
} else {
System.out.println("False");
}
}
}
----Output-----
true
false
true
It may be worth adding that for wrapper objects for primitive types - i.e. Int, Long, Double - == will return true if the two values are equal.
Long a = 10L;
Long b = 10L;
if (a == b) {
System.out.println("Wrapped primitives behave like values");
}
To contrast, putting the above two Longs into two separate ArrayLists, equals sees them as the same, but == doesn't.
ArrayList<Long> c = new ArrayList<>();
ArrayList<Long> d = new ArrayList<>();
c.add(a);
d.add(b);
if (c == d) System.out.println("No way!");
if (c.equals(d)) System.out.println("Yes, this is true.");
The String pool (aka interning) and Integer pool blur the difference further, and may allow you to use == for objects in some cases instead of .equals
This can give you greater performance (?), at the cost of greater complexity.
E.g.:
assert "ab" == "a" + "b";
Integer i = 1;
Integer j = i;
assert i == j;
Complexity tradeoff: the following may surprise you:
assert new String("a") != new String("a");
Integer i = 128;
Integer j = 128;
assert i != j;
I advise you to stay away from such micro-optimization, and always use .equals for objects, and == for primitives:
assert (new String("a")).equals(new String("a"));
Integer i = 128;
Integer j = 128;
assert i.equals(j);
In short, the answer is "Yes".
In Java, the == operator compares the two objects to see if they point to the same memory location; while the .equals() method actually compares the two objects to see if they have the same object value.
It is the difference between identity and equivalence.
a == b means that a and b are identical, that is, they are symbols for very same object in memory.
a.equals( b ) means that they are equivalent, that they are symbols for objects that in some sense have the same value -- although those objects may occupy different places in memory.
Note that with equivalence, the question of how to evaluate and compare objects comes into play -- complex objects may be regarded as equivalent for practical purposes even though some of their contents differ. With identity, there is no such question.
Since Java doesn’t support operator overloading, == behaves identical
for every object but equals() is method, which can be overridden in
Java and logic to compare objects can be changed based upon business
rules.
Main difference between == and equals in Java is that "==" is used to
compare primitives while equals() method is recommended to check
equality of objects.
String comparison is a common scenario of using both == and equals() method. Since java.lang.String class override equals method, It
return true if two String object contains same content but == will
only return true if two references are pointing to same object.
Here is an example of comparing two Strings in Java for equality using == and equals() method which will clear some doubts:
public class TEstT{
public static void main(String[] args) {
String text1 = new String("apple");
String text2 = new String("apple");
//since two strings are different object result should be false
boolean result = text1 == text2;
System.out.println("Comparing two strings with == operator: " + result);
//since strings contains same content , equals() should return true
result = text1.equals(text2);
System.out.println("Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: " + result);
text2 = text1;
//since both text2 and text1d reference variable are pointing to same object
//"==" should return true
result = (text1 == text2);
System.out.println("Comparing two reference pointing to same String with == operator: " + result);
}
}
Basically, == compares if two objects have the same reference on the heap, so unless two references are linked to the same object, this comparison will be false.
equals() is a method inherited from Object class. This method by default compares if two objects have the same referece. It means:
object1.equals(object2) <=> object1 == object2
However, if you want to establish equality between two objects of the same class you should override this method. It is also very important to override the method hashCode() if you have overriden equals().
Implement hashCode() when establishing equality is part of the Java Object Contract. If you are working with collections, and you haven't implemented hashCode(), Strange Bad Things could happen:
HashMap<Cat, String> cats = new HashMap<>();
Cat cat = new Cat("molly");
cats.put(cat, "This is a cool cat");
System.out.println(cats.get(new Cat("molly"));
null will be printed after executing the previous code if you haven't implemented hashCode().
In simple words, == checks if both objects point to the same memory location whereas .equals() evaluates to the comparison of values in the objects.
equals() method mainly compares the original content of the object.
If we Write
String s1 = "Samim";
String s2 = "Samim";
String s3 = new String("Samim");
String s4 = new String("Samim");
System.out.println(s1.equals(s2));
System.out.println(s2.equals(s3));
System.out.println(s3.equals(s4));
The output will be
true
true
true
Because equals() method compare the content of the object.
in first System.out.println() the content of s1 and s2 is same that's why it print true.
And it is same for others two System.out.println() is true.
Again ,
String s1 = "Samim";
String s2 = "Samim";
String s3 = new String("Samim");
String s4 = new String("Samim");
System.out.println(s1 == s2);
System.out.println(s2 == s3);
System.out.println(s3 == s4);
The output will be
true
false
false
Because == operator mainly compare the references of the object not the value.
In first System.out.println(), the references of s1 and s2 is same thats why it returns true.
In second System.out.println(), s3 object is created , thats why another reference of s3 will create , and the references of s2 and s3 will difference, for this reason it return "false".
Third System.out.println(), follow the rules of second System.out.println(), that's why it will return "false".
I constructed a class with one String field. Then I created two objects and I have to compare them using == operator and .equals() too. Here's what I've done:
public class MyClass {
String a;
public MyClass(String ab) {
a = ab;
}
public boolean equals(Object object2) {
if(a == object2) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2)) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyClass object1 = new MyClass("test");
MyClass object2 = new MyClass("test");
object1.equals(object2);
System.out.println(object1.equals(object2));
object1.equals2(object2);
System.out.println(object1.equals2(object2));
}
}
After compile it shows two times false as a result. Why is it false if the two objects have the same fields - "test"?
== compares object references, it checks to see if the two operands point to the same object (not equivalent objects, the same object).
If you want to compare strings (to see if they contain the same characters), you need to compare the strings using equals.
In your case, if two instances of MyClass really are considered equal if the strings match, then:
public boolean equals(Object object2) {
return object2 instanceof MyClass && a.equals(((MyClass)object2).a);
}
...but usually if you are defining a class, there's more to equivalency than the equivalency of a single field (a in this case).
Side note: If you override equals, you almost always need to override hashCode. As it says in the equals JavaDoc:
Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.
You should override equals
public boolean equals (Object obj) {
if (this==obj) return true;
if (this == null) return false;
if (this.getClass() != obj.getClass()) return false;
// Class name is Employ & have lastname
Employe emp = (Employee) obj ;
return this.lastname.equals(emp.getlastname());
}
The best way to compare 2 objects is by converting them into json strings and compare the strings, its the easiest solution when dealing with complicated nested objects, fields and/or objects that contain arrays.
sample:
import com.google.gson.Gson;
Object a = // ...;
Object b = //...;
String objectString1 = new Gson().toJson(a);
String objectString2 = new Gson().toJson(b);
if(objectString1.equals(objectString2)){
//do this
}
The overwrite function equals() is wrong.
The object "a" is an instance of the String class and "object2" is an instance of the MyClass class. They are different classes, so the answer is "false".
It looks like equals2 is just calling equals, so it will give the same results.
Your equals2() method always will return the same as equals() !!
Your code with my comments:
public boolean equals2(Object object2) { // equals2 method
if(a.equals(object2)) { // if equals() method returns true
return true; // return true
}
else return false; // if equals() method returns false, also return false
}
The "==" operator returns true only if the two references pointing to the same object in memory. The equals() method on the other hand returns true based on the contents of the object.
Example:
String personalLoan = new String("cheap personal loans");
String homeLoan = new String("cheap personal loans");
//since two strings are different object result should be false
boolean result = personalLoan == homeLoan;
System.out.println("Comparing two strings with == operator: " + result);
//since strings contains same content , equals() should return true
result = personalLoan.equals(homeLoan);
System.out.println("Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: " + result);
homeLoan = personalLoan;
//since both homeLoan and personalLoan reference variable are pointing to same object
//"==" should return true
result = (personalLoan == homeLoan);
System.out.println("Comparing two reference pointing to same String with == operator: " + result);
Output:
Comparing two strings with == operator: false
Comparing two Strings with same content using equals method: true
Comparing two references pointing to same String with == operator: true
You can also get more details from the link: http://javarevisited.blogspot.in/2012/12/difference-between-equals-method-and-equality-operator-java.html?m=1
Statements a == object2 and a.equals(object2) both will always return false because a is a string while object2 is an instance of MyClass
Your implementation must like:
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2.a)) {
return true;
}
else return false;
}
With this implementation your both methods would work.
If you dont need to customize the default toString() function, another way is to override toString() method, which returns all attributes to be compared. then compare toString() output of two objects. I generated toString() method using IntelliJ IDEA IDE, which includes class name in the string.
public class Greeting {
private String greeting;
#Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (this == obj) return true;
return this.toString().equals(obj.toString());
}
#Override
public String toString() {
return "Greeting{" +
"greeting='" + greeting + '\'' +
'}';
}
}
Your class might implement the Comparable interface to achieve the same functionality. Your class should implement the compareTo() method declared in the interface.
public class MyClass implements Comparable<MyClass>{
String a;
public MyClass(String ab){
a = ab;
}
// returns an int not a boolean
public int compareTo(MyClass someMyClass){
/* The String class implements a compareTo method, returning a 0
if the two strings are identical, instead of a boolean.
Since 'a' is a string, it has the compareTo method which we call
in MyClass's compareTo method.
*/
return this.a.compareTo(someMyClass.a);
}
public static void main(String[] args){
MyClass object1 = new MyClass("test");
MyClass object2 = new MyClass("test");
if(object1.compareTo(object2) == 0){
System.out.println("true");
}
else{
System.out.println("false");
}
}
}
the return type of object.equals is already boolean.
there's no need to wrap it in a method with branches. so if you want to compare 2 objects simply compare them:
boolean b = objectA.equals(objectB);
b is already either true or false.
When we use == , the Reference of object is compared not the actual objects. We need to override equals method to compare Java Objects.
Some additional information C++ has operator over loading & Java does not provide operator over loading.
Also other possibilities in java are implement Compare Interface .which defines a compareTo method.
Comparator interface is also used compare two objects
Here the output will be false , false beacuse in first sopln statement you are trying to compare a string type varible of Myclass type to the other MyClass type and it will allow because of both are Object type and you have used "==" oprerator which will check the reference variable value holding the actual memory not the actual contnets inside the memory .
In the second sopln also it is the same as you are again calling a.equals(object2) where a is a varible inside object1 . Do let me know your findings on this .
In short, == compares two POINTERS.
If the two pointers are equal, then they both point to same object in memory (which, obviously has the same value as itself).
However, .equals will compare the VALUES of whatever is pointed to, returning true iff they both evaluate to the same value.
Thus, two separate strings (i.e., at different addresses in memory) are always != but are .equal iff they contain the same (null-terminated) sequence of chars.
IN the below code you are calling the overriden method .equals().
public boolean equals2(Object object2) {
if(a.equals(object2)) { // here you are calling the overriden method, that is why you getting false 2 times.
return true;
}
else return false;
}