Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4>.IStructuralComparable.CompareTo Method

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Compares the current Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> 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.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Private Function CompareTo ( _
    other As Object, _
    comparer As IComparer _
) As Integer Implements IStructuralComparable.CompareTo
int IStructuralComparable.CompareTo(
    Object other,
    IComparer comparer
)

Parameters

  • other
    Type: System.Object
    An object to compare with the current instance.

Return Value

Type: System.Int32
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

IStructuralComparable.CompareTo(Object, IComparer)

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentException

other is not a Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> object.

Remarks

This member is an explicit interface member implementation. It can be used only when the Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> 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, such as the Array.Sort(Array, IComparer) method.

Caution noteCaution:

The IStructuralComparable.CompareTo(Object, IComparer) 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 IStructuralEquatable.Equals(Object, IEqualityComparer) method.

Examples

The following example creates an array of Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> objects that contain statistical data about baseball pitchers. The data items include the name of the pitcher, the number of innings pitched, the pitcher's earned run average (the average number of runs a pitcher allows per game), and the number of hits the pitcher has given up. The example 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 PitcherComparer class that implements the IComparer interface and sorts the Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> objects in ascending order by the value of their third component (the earned run average) rather than their first component. Note that the example does not directly call the IStructuralComparable.CompareTo(Object, IComparer) method. This method is called implicitly by the Array.Sort(Array, IComparer) method for each element in the array.

Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Collections.Generic

Public Class PitcherComparer(Of T1, T2, T3, T4) : Implements IComparer
   Public Function Compare(ByVal x As Object, ByVal y As Object) As Integer _
                   Implements IComparer.Compare
      Dim tX As Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3, T4) = TryCast(x, Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3, T4))
      If tX Is Nothing Then
         Return 0
      Else
         Dim tY As Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3, T4) = DirectCast(y, Tuple(Of T1, T2, T3, T4))
         Return Comparer(Of T3).Default.Compare(tX.Item3, tY.Item3)
      End If
   End Function
End Class

Module Example
   Public Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      Dim pitchers() = _ 
                { Tuple.Create("McHale, Joe", 240.1, 3.60, 221), _
                  Tuple.Create("Paul, Dave", 233.1, 3.24, 231), _
                  Tuple.Create("Williams, Mike", 193.2, 4.00, 183), _
                  Tuple.Create("Blair, Jack", 168.1, 3.48, 146), _
                  Tuple.Create("Henry, Walt", 140.1, 1.92, 96), _
                  Tuple.Create("Lee, Adam", 137.2, 2.94, 109), _
                  Tuple.Create("Rohr, Don", 101.0, 3.74, 110) }

      outputBlock.Text &= "The values in unsorted order:" & vbCrLf
      For Each pitcher In pitchers
         outputBlock.Text &= pitcher.ToString() & vbCrLf
      Next
      outputBlock.Text &= vbCrLf

      Array.Sort(pitchers, New PitcherComparer(Of String, Double, Double, Integer)())

      outputBlock.Text &= "The values sorted by earned run average (component 3):" & vbCrLf
      For Each pitcher In pitchers
         outputBlock.Text &= pitcher.ToString() & vbCrLf
      Next
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output;
'       The values in unsorted order:
'       (McHale, Joe, 240.1, 3.6, 221)
'       (Paul, Dave, 233.1, 3.24, 231)
'       (Williams, Mike, 193.2, 4, 183)
'       (Blair, Jack, 168.1, 3.48, 146)
'       (Henry, Walt, 140.1, 1.92, 96)
'       (Lee, Adam, 137.2, 2.94, 109)
'       (Rohr, Don, 101, 3.74, 110)
'       
'       The values sorted by earned run average (component 3):
'       (Henry, Walt, 140.1, 1.92, 96)
'       (Lee, Adam, 137.2, 2.94, 109)
'       (Rohr, Don, 101, 3.74, 110)
'       (Blair, Jack, 168.1, 3.48, 146)
'       (McHale, Joe, 240.1, 3.6, 221)
'       (Paul, Dave, 233.1, 3.24, 231)
'       (Williams, Mike, 193.2, 4, 183)
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class PitcherComparer<T1, T2, T3, T4> : IComparer
{
   public int Compare(object x, object y)
   {
      Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> tX = x as Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4>;
      if (tX == null)
      {
         return 0;
      }
      else
      {
         Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4> tY = y as Tuple<T1, T2, T3, T4>;
         return Comparer<T3>.Default.Compare(tX.Item3, tY.Item3);
      }
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      Tuple<string, double, double, int>[] pitchers = 
                    { Tuple.Create("McHale, Joe", 240.1, 3.60, 221),
                      Tuple.Create("Paul, Dave", 233.1, 3.24, 231), 
                      Tuple.Create("Williams, Mike", 193.2, 4.00, 183),
                      Tuple.Create("Blair, Jack", 168.1, 3.48, 146), 
                      Tuple.Create("Henry, Walt", 140.1, 1.92, 96),
                      Tuple.Create("Lee, Adam", 137.2, 2.94, 109),
                      Tuple.Create("Rohr, Don", 101.0, 3.74, 110) };

      outputBlock.Text += "The values in unsorted order:" + "\n";
      foreach (var pitcher in pitchers)
         outputBlock.Text += pitcher.ToString() + "\n";

      outputBlock.Text += "\n";

      Array.Sort(pitchers, new PitcherComparer<string, double, double, int>());

      outputBlock.Text += "The values sorted by earned run average (component 3):" + "\n";
      foreach (var pitcher in pitchers)
         outputBlock.Text += pitcher.ToString() + "\n";
   }
}
// The example displays the following output;
//       The values in unsorted order:
//       (McHale, Joe, 240.1, 3.6, 221)
//       (Paul, Dave, 233.1, 3.24, 231)
//       (Williams, Mike, 193.2, 4, 183)
//       (Blair, Jack, 168.1, 3.48, 146)
//       (Henry, Walt, 140.1, 1.92, 96)
//       (Lee, Adam, 137.2, 2.94, 109)
//       (Rohr, Don, 101, 3.74, 110)
//       
//       The values sorted by earned run average (component 3):
//       (Henry, Walt, 140.1, 1.92, 96)
//       (Lee, Adam, 137.2, 2.94, 109)
//       (Rohr, Don, 101, 3.74, 110)
//       (Blair, Jack, 168.1, 3.48, 146)
//       (McHale, Joe, 240.1, 3.6, 221)
//       (Paul, Dave, 233.1, 3.24, 231)
//       (Williams, Mike, 193.2, 4, 183)

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4

Platforms

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