Equals Method
.NET Framework Class Library
ValueType..::.Equals Method

Indicates whether this instance and a specified object are equal.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Overrides Function Equals ( _
    obj As Object _
) As Boolean
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As ValueType
Dim obj As Object
Dim returnValue As Boolean

returnValue = instance.Equals(obj)
C#
public override bool Equals(
    Object obj
)
Visual C++
public:
virtual bool Equals(
    Object^ obj
) override
JScript
public override function Equals(
    obj : Object
) : boolean

Parameters

obj
Type: System..::.Object
Another object to compare to.

Return Value

Type: System..::.Boolean
true if obj and this instance are the same type and represent the same value; otherwise, false.

The default implementation of the Equals method uses reflection to compare the corresponding fields of obj and this instance. Override the Equals method for a particular type to improve the performance of the method and more closely represent the concept of equality for the type.

The following example demonstrates how the Equals method can be overridden by a derived value type.

Visual Basic
Public Structure Complex
   Private m_Re As Double
   Private m_Im As Double

   Public Overloads Function Equals(ob As Object) As Boolean
      If TypeOf ob Is Complex Then
         Dim c As Complex = CType(ob, Complex)
         Return m_Re = c.m_Re And m_Im = c.m_Im
      Else
         Return False
      End If
   End Function


   Public Overloads Function GetHashCode() As Integer
      Return m_Re.GetHashCode() ^ m_Im.GetHashCode()
   End Function

End Structure
C#
    public struct Complex 
    {
        public double m_Re;
        public double m_Im;

        public override bool Equals( object ob ){
            if( ob is Complex ) {
                Complex c = (Complex) ob;
                return m_Re==c.m_Re && m_Im==c.m_Im;
            }
            else {
                return false;
            }
        }

        public override int GetHashCode(){
            return m_Re.GetHashCode() ^ m_Im.GetHashCode();
        }
    }
Visual C++
public ref struct Complex
{
public:
   double m_Re;
   double m_Im;
   virtual bool Equals( Object^ ob ) override
   {
      if ( dynamic_cast<Complex^>(ob) )
      {
         Complex^ c = dynamic_cast<Complex^>(ob);
         return m_Re == c->m_Re && m_Im == c->m_Im;
      }
      else
      {
         return false;
      }
   }

   virtual int GetHashCode() override
   {
      return m_Re.GetHashCode() ^ m_Im.GetHashCode();
   }
};
JScript
    public class Complex 
    {
        public var m_Re : double;
        public var m_Im : double;

        public override function Equals( ob ) : Boolean{
            if( ob.GetType() == Complex ) {
                var c : Complex = Complex(ob);
                return m_Re==c.m_Re && m_Im==c.m_Im;
            }
            else {
                return false;
            }
        }

        public override function GetHashCode() : int{
            return m_Re.GetHashCode() ^ m_Im.GetHashCode();
        }

                public static function main() {
                       var x : Complex = new Complex();
                       x.m_Re = 1;
                       x.m_Im = 2;
                       var y : Complex = new Complex();
                       y.m_Re = 2;
                       y.m_Im = 1;

                       Console.Write(x.Equals(y));                       
                }
    }

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
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