CompareInfo.Compare Method (String, Int32, Int32, String, Int32, Int32, CompareOptions)

.NET Framework (current version)
 
System_CAPS_noteNote

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Compares a section of one string with a section of another string using the specified CompareOptions value.

Namespace:   System.Globalization
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

C#
C++
F#
VB
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public virtual int Compare(
	string string1,
	int offset1,
	int length1,
	string string2,
	int offset2,
	int length2,
	CompareOptions options
)

Parameters

string1
Type: System.String

The first string to compare.

offset1
Type: System.Int32

The zero-based index of the character in string1 at which to start comparing.

length1
Type: System.Int32

The number of consecutive characters in string1 to compare.

string2
Type: System.String

The second string to compare.

offset2
Type: System.Int32

The zero-based index of the character in string2 at which to start comparing.

length2
Type: System.Int32

The number of consecutive characters in string2 to compare.

options
Type: System.Globalization.CompareOptions

A value that defines how string1 and string2 should be compared. options is either the enumeration value Ordinal, or a bitwise combination of one or more of the following values: IgnoreCase, IgnoreSymbols, IgnoreNonSpace, IgnoreWidth, IgnoreKanaType, and StringSort.

Return Value

Type: System.Int32

A 32-bit signed integer indicating the lexical relationship between the two comparands.

Value

Condition

zero

The two strings are equal.

less than zero

The specified section of string1 is less than the specified section of string2.

greater than zero

The specified section of string1 is greater than the specified section of string2.

Exception Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException

offset1 or length1 or offset2 or length2 is less than zero.

-or-

offset1 is greater than or equal to the number of characters in string1.

-or-

offset2 is greater than or equal to the number of characters in string2.

-or-

length1 is greater than the number of characters from offset1 to the end of string1.

-or-

length2 is greater than the number of characters from offset2 to the end of string2.

ArgumentException

options contains an invalid CompareOptions value.

If a security decision depends on a string comparison or a case change, you should use the InvariantCulture property to ensure that the behavior is consistent regardless of the culture settings of the operating system.

System_CAPS_noteNote

When possible, you should call string comparison methods that have a parameter of type CompareOptions to specify the kind of comparison expected. As a general rule, use linguistic options (using the current culture) for comparing strings displayed in the user interface and specify Ordinal or OrdinalIgnoreCase for security comparisons.

Notes to Callers:

Character sets include ignorable characters. The Compare(String, Int32, Int32, String, Int32, Int32, CompareOptions) method does not consider these characters when it performs a culture-sensitive comparison. To recognize ignorable characters in your comparison, supply a value of CompareOptions.Ordinal or CompareOptions.OrdinalIgnoreCase for the options parameter.

The following example compares portions of two strings using different CompareOptions settings.

C#
C++
VB
Copy 
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class SamplesCompareInfo  {

   public static void Main()  {

      // Defines the strings to compare.
      String myStr1 = "My Uncle Bill's clients";
      String myStr2 = "My uncle bills clients";

      // Creates a CompareInfo that uses the InvariantCulture.
      CompareInfo myComp = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture.CompareInfo;

      // Compares two strings using myComp.
      Console.WriteLine( "Comparing \"{0}\" and \"{1}\"", myStr1.Substring( 3, 10 ), myStr2.Substring( 3, 10 ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With no CompareOptions            : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10 ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With None                         : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10, CompareOptions.None ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With Ordinal                      : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10, CompareOptions.Ordinal ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With StringSort                   : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10, CompareOptions.StringSort ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With IgnoreCase                   : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10, CompareOptions.IgnoreCase ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With IgnoreSymbols                : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10, CompareOptions.IgnoreSymbols ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "   With IgnoreCase and IgnoreSymbols : {0}", myComp.Compare( myStr1, 3, 10, myStr2, 3, 10, CompareOptions.IgnoreCase | CompareOptions.IgnoreSymbols ) );

   }

}


/*
This code produces the following output.

Comparing "Uncle Bill" and "uncle bill"
   With no CompareOptions            : 1
   With None                         : 1
   With Ordinal                      : -32
   With StringSort                   : 1
   With IgnoreCase                   : 0
   With IgnoreSymbols                : 1
   With IgnoreCase and IgnoreSymbols : 0

*/

Universal Windows Platform
Available since 8
.NET Framework
Available since 1.1
Portable Class Library
Supported in: portable .NET platforms
Silverlight
Available since 2.0
Windows Phone Silverlight
Available since 7.0
Windows Phone
Available since 8.1
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