CompareInfo::Compare Method (String, String, CompareOptions)
Compares two strings using the specified CompareOptions value.
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Parameters
- string1
- Type: System::String
The first string to compare.
- string2
- Type: System::String
The second string to compare.
- options
- Type: System.Globalization::CompareOptions
The CompareOptions value that defines how string1 and string2 should be compared. options is either the value Ordinal used by itself, or the bitwise combination of one or more of the following values: IgnoreCase, IgnoreSymbols, IgnoreNonSpace, IgnoreWidth, IgnoreKanaType, and StringSort.
Return Value
Type: System::Int32Value | Condition |
|---|---|
zero | The two strings are equal. |
less than zero | string1 is less than string2. |
greater than zero | string1 is greater than string2. |
| Exception | Condition |
|---|---|
| ArgumentException | options contains an invalid CompareOptions value. |
If a security decision depends on a string comparison or a case change, the application should use the InvariantCulture to ensure that the behavior is consistent regardless of the culture settings of the operating system.
Note |
|---|
When possible, the application should use string comparison methods that accept a CompareOptions value to specify the kind of comparison expected. As a general rule, user-facing comparisons are best served by the use of linguistic options (using the current culture), while security comparisons should specify Ordinal or OrdinalIgnoreCase. |
The following code example compares two strings using different CompareOptions settings.
using namespace System; using namespace System::Globalization; int main() { // Defines the strings to compare. String^ myStr1 = "My Uncle Bill's clients"; String^ myStr2 = "My uncle bills clients"; // Creates a CompareInfo which uses the InvariantCulture. CompareInfo^ myComp = CultureInfo::InvariantCulture->CompareInfo; // Compares two strings using myComp. Console::WriteLine( "Comparing \"{0}\" and \"{1}\"", myStr1, myStr2 ); Console::WriteLine( " With no CompareOptions : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2 ) ); Console::WriteLine( " With None : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2, CompareOptions::None ) ); Console::WriteLine( " With Ordinal : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2, CompareOptions::Ordinal ) ); Console::WriteLine( " With StringSort : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2, CompareOptions::StringSort ) ); Console::WriteLine( " With IgnoreCase : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2, CompareOptions::IgnoreCase ) ); Console::WriteLine( " With IgnoreSymbols : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2, CompareOptions::IgnoreSymbols ) ); Console::WriteLine( " With IgnoreCase and IgnoreSymbols : {0}", myComp->Compare( myStr1, myStr2, static_cast<CompareOptions>(CompareOptions::IgnoreCase | CompareOptions::IgnoreSymbols) ) ); } /* This code produces the following output. Comparing "My Uncle Bill's clients" and "My uncle bills clients" With no CompareOptions : 1 With None : 1 With Ordinal : -32 With StringSort : -1 With IgnoreCase : 1 With IgnoreSymbols : 1 With IgnoreCase and IgnoreSymbols : 0 */
The following code example demonstrates calling the Compare method.
using namespace System; using namespace System::Text; using namespace System::Globalization; int main() { array<String^>^ sign = gcnew array<String^> { "<", "=", ">" }; // The code below demonstrates how strings compare // differently for different cultures. String^ s1 = "Coté"; String^ s2 = "coté"; String^ s3 = "côte"; // Set sort order of strings for French in France. CompareInfo^ ci = (gcnew CultureInfo("fr-FR"))->CompareInfo; Console::WriteLine(L"The LCID for {0} is {1}.", ci->Name, ci->LCID); // Display the result using fr-FR Compare of Coté = coté. Console::WriteLine(L"fr-FR Compare: {0} {2} {1}", s1, s2, sign[ci->Compare(s1, s2, CompareOptions::IgnoreCase) + 1]); // Display the result using fr-FR Compare of coté > côte. Console::WriteLine(L"fr-FR Compare: {0} {2} {1}", s2, s3, sign[ci->Compare(s2, s3, CompareOptions::None) + 1]); // Set sort order of strings for Japanese as spoken in Japan. ci = (gcnew CultureInfo("ja-JP"))->CompareInfo; Console::WriteLine(L"The LCID for {0} is {1}.", ci->Name, ci->LCID); // Display the result using ja-JP Compare of coté < côte. Console::WriteLine("ja-JP Compare: {0} {2} {1}", s2, s3, sign[ci->Compare(s2, s3) + 1]); } // This code produces the following output. // // The LCID for fr-FR is 1036. // fr-FR Compare: Coté = coté // fr-FR Compare: coté > côte // The LCID for ja-JP is 1041. // ja-JP Compare: coté < côte
Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2
The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Note