Tuple<T1,T2,T3>.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo Method

Definition

Compares the current Tuple<T1,T2,T3> object to a specified object by using a specified comparer, and returns an integer that indicates whether the current object is before, after, or in the same position as the specified object in the sort order.

 virtual int System.Collections.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo(System::Object ^ other, System::Collections::IComparer ^ comparer) = System::Collections::IStructuralComparable::CompareTo;
int IStructuralComparable.CompareTo (object other, System.Collections.IComparer comparer);
abstract member System.Collections.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo : obj * System.Collections.IComparer -> int
override this.System.Collections.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo : obj * System.Collections.IComparer -> int
Function CompareTo (other As Object, comparer As IComparer) As Integer Implements IStructuralComparable.CompareTo

Parameters

other
Object

An object to compare with the current instance.

comparer
IComparer

An object that provides custom rules for comparison.

Returns

A signed integer that indicates the relative position of this instance and other in the sort order, as shown in the following table.

Value Description
A negative integer This instance precedes other.
Zero This instance and other have the same position in the sort order.
A positive integer This instance follows other.

Implements

Exceptions

other is not a Tuple<T1,T2,T3> object.

Examples

The following example creates an array of Tuple<T1,T2,T3> objects that consist of a student's name, mean test score, and number of tests. It displays the component of each tuple in the array in unsorted order, sorts the array, and then calls ToString to display the value of each tuple in sorted order. To sort the array, the example defines a generic ScoreComparer class that implements the IComparer interface and sorts the Tuple<T1,T2,T3> objects in ascending order by the value of their second component rather than their first component. Note that the example does not directly call the Tuple<T1,T2,T3>.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo method. This method is called implicitly by the Array.Sort(Array, IComparer) method for each element in the array.

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class ScoreComparer<T1, T2, T3> : IComparer
{
   public int Compare(object x, object y)
   {
      Tuple<T1, T2, T3> tX = x as Tuple<T1,T2, T3>;
      if (tX == null)
      { 
         return 0;
      }   
      else
      {
         Tuple<T1, T2, T3> tY = y as Tuple<T1, T2, T3>;
         return Comparer<T2>.Default.Compare(tX.Item2, tY.Item2);             
      }
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      Tuple<string, double, int>[] scores = 
                { Tuple.Create("Jack", 78.8, 8),
                  Tuple.Create("Abbey", 92.1, 9), 
                  Tuple.Create("Dave", 88.3, 9),
                  Tuple.Create("Sam", 91.7, 8), 
                  Tuple.Create("Ed", 71.2, 5),
                  Tuple.Create("Penelope", 82.9, 8),
                  Tuple.Create("Linda", 99.0, 9),
                  Tuple.Create("Judith", 84.3, 9) };

      Console.WriteLine("The values in unsorted order:");
      foreach (var score in scores)
         Console.WriteLine(score.ToString());

      Console.WriteLine();

      Array.Sort(scores, new ScoreComparer<string, double, int>());

      Console.WriteLine("The values in sorted order:");
      foreach (var score in scores)
         Console.WriteLine(score.ToString());
   }
}
// The example displays the following output;
//       The values in unsorted order:
//       (Jack, 78.8, 8)
//       (Abbey, 92.1, 9)
//       (Dave, 88.3, 9)
//       (Sam, 91.7, 8)
//       (Ed, 71.2, 5)
//       (Penelope, 82.9, 8)
//       (Linda, 99, 9)
//       (Judith, 84.3, 9)
//       
//       The values in sorted order:
//       (Ed, 71.2, 5)
//       (Jack, 78.8, 8)
//       (Penelope, 82.9, 8)
//       (Judith, 84.3, 9)
//       (Dave, 88.3, 9)
//       (Sam, 91.7, 8)
//       (Abbey, 92.1, 9)
//       (Linda, 99, 9)
open System
open System.Collections
open System.Collections.Generic

type ScoreComparer<'T1, 'T2, 'T3>() =
    interface IComparer with
        member _.Compare(x: obj, y: obj) =
            match x with
            | :? Tuple<'T1, 'T2, 'T3> as tX -> 
                let tY = y :?> Tuple<'T1, 'T2, 'T3>
                Comparer<'T2>.Default.Compare(tX.Item2, tY.Item2)             
            | _ -> 0

let scores = 
    [| Tuple.Create("Jack", 78.8, 8)
       Tuple.Create("Abbey", 92.1, 9) 
       Tuple.Create("Dave", 88.3, 9)
       Tuple.Create("Sam", 91.7, 8) 
       Tuple.Create("Ed", 71.2, 5)
       Tuple.Create("Penelope", 82.9, 8)
       Tuple.Create("Linda", 99.0, 9)
       Tuple.Create("Judith", 84.3, 9) |]

printfn "The values in unsorted order:"
for score in scores do
    printfn $"{score}"

printfn ""

Array.Sort(scores, ScoreComparer<string, double, int>())

printfn "The values in sorted order:"
for score in scores do
    printfn $"{score}"
// The example displays the following output
//       The values in unsorted order:
//       (Jack, 78.8, 8)
//       (Abbey, 92.1, 9)
//       (Dave, 88.3, 9)
//       (Sam, 91.7, 8)
//       (Ed, 71.2, 5)
//       (Penelope, 82.9, 8)
//       (Linda, 99, 9)
//       (Judith, 84.3, 9)
//       
//       The values in sorted order:
//       (Ed, 71.2, 5)
//       (Jack, 78.8, 8)
//       (Penelope, 82.9, 8)
//       (Judith, 84.3, 9)
//       (Dave, 88.3, 9)
//       (Sam, 91.7, 8)
//       (Abbey, 92.1, 9)
//       (Linda, 99, 9)
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic

Public Class ScoreComparer(Of T1, T2, T3) : Implements IComparer
   Public Function Compare(x As Object, y As Object) As Integer _
                   Implements IComparer.Compare
      Dim tX As Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3) = TryCast(x, Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3))
      If tX Is Nothing Then
         Return 0
      Else
         Dim tY As Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3) = DirectCast(y, Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3))
         Return Comparer(Of T2).Default.Compare(tx.Item2, tY.Item2)             
      End If
   End Function
End Class

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim scores() = 
                 { Tuple.Create("Jack", 78.8, 8),
                   Tuple.Create("Abbey", 92.1, 9), 
                   Tuple.Create("Dave", 88.3, 9),
                   Tuple.Create("Sam", 91.7, 8), 
                   Tuple.Create("Ed", 71.2, 5),
                   Tuple.Create("Penelope", 82.9, 8),
                   Tuple.Create("Linda", 99.0, 9),
                   Tuple.Create("Judith", 84.3, 9) }

      Console.WriteLine("The values in unsorted order:")
      For Each score In scores
         Console.WriteLine(score.ToString())
      Next
      Console.WriteLine()

      Array.Sort(scores, New ScoreComparer(Of String, Double, Integer)())

      Console.WriteLine("The values in sorted order:")
      For Each score In scores
         Console.WriteLine(score.ToString())
      Next
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output;
'       The values in unsorted order:
'       (Jack, 78.8, 8)
'       (Abbey, 92.1, 9)
'       (Dave, 88.3, 9)
'       (Sam, 91.7, 8)
'       (Ed, 71.2, 5)
'       (Penelope, 82.9, 8)
'       (Linda, 99, 9)
'       (Judith, 84.3, 9)
'       
'       The values in sorted order:
'       (Ed, 71.2, 5)
'       (Jack, 78.8, 8)
'       (Penelope, 82.9, 8)
'       (Judith, 84.3, 9)
'       (Dave, 88.3, 9)
'       (Sam, 91.7, 8)
'       (Abbey, 92.1, 9)
'       (Linda, 99, 9)

Remarks

This member is an explicit interface member implementation. It can be used only when the Tuple<T1,T2,T3> instance is cast to an IStructuralComparable interface.

Although this method can be called directly, it is most commonly called by collection sorting methods that include IComparer parameters to order the members of a collection. For example, it is called by the Array.Sort(Array, IComparer) method and the Add method of a SortedList object that is instantiated by using the SortedList.SortedList(IComparer) constructor.

Caution

The Tuple<T1,T2,T3>.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo method is intended for use in sorting operations. It should not be used when the primary purpose of a comparison is to determine whether two objects are equal. To determine whether two objects are equal, call the Tuple<T1,T2,T3>.IStructuralEquatable.Equals method.

Applies to

See also