IComparer.Compare Method

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.

Compares two objects and returns a value indicating whether one is less than, equal to, or greater than the other.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Function Compare ( _
    x As Object, _
    y As Object _
) As Integer
int Compare(
    Object x,
    Object y
)

Parameters

Return Value

Type: System.Int32
A signed integer that indicates the relative values of x and y, as shown in the following table.

Value

Condition

Less than zero

x is less than y.

Zero

x equals y.

Greater than zero

x is greater than y.

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentException

Neither x nor y implements the IComparable interface.

-or-

x and y are of different types and neither one can handle comparisons with the other.

Remarks

The preferred implementation is to use the CompareTo method of one of the parameters.

Comparing nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) with any type is allowed and does not generate an exception when using IComparable. When sorting, nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) is considered to be less than any other object.

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.