• Article

CompareInfo.Compare Method (String, String)

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Compares two strings and returns an integer that indicates their relationship to one another in the sort order.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Overridable Function Compare ( _
    string1 As String, _
    string2 As String _
) As Integer

public virtual int Compare(
    string string1,
    string string2
)

Parameters

Return Value

Type: System.Int32
An integer that indicates the relationship between the two strings in the sort order, as follows:

Value

Condition

zero

The two strings are equal.

less than zero

string1 precedes string2.

greater than zero

string1 follows string2.

Remarks

By default, the comparison is performed using CompareOptions.None. To explicitly define the options used in the comparison, call the CompareInfo.Compare overload.

Examples

The following example demonstrates calling the Compare method.

Imports System.Text
Imports System.Globalization

Public NotInheritable Class Example
   Public Shared Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      Dim sign() As String = {"<", "=", ">"}

      ' The code below demonstrates how strings compare 
      ' differently for different cultures.
      Dim s1 As String = "Coté"
      Dim s2 As String = "coté"
      Dim s3 As String = "côte"

      ' Set sort order of strings for French in France.
      Dim ci As CompareInfo = New CultureInfo("fr-FR").CompareInfo

      ' Display the result using fr-FR Compare of Coté = coté.      
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("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.
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("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 = New CultureInfo("ja-JP").CompareInfo

      ' Display the result using ja-JP Compare of coté < côte. 
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("ja-JP Compare: {0} {2} {1}", _
                        s2, s3, sign((ci.Compare(s2, s3) + 1)))
   End Sub 
End Class 

' This code produces the following output.
' 
' fr-FR Compare: Coté = coté
' fr-FR Compare: coté > côte
' ja-JP Compare: coté < côte

using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Globalization;

public sealed class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      String[] sign = new String[] { "<", "=", ">" };

      // The code below demonstrates how strings compare 
      // differently for different cultures.
      String s1 = "Coté", s2 = "coté", s3 = "côte";

      // Set sort order of strings for French in France.
      CompareInfo ci = new CultureInfo("fr-FR").CompareInfo;

      // Display the result using fr-FR Compare of Coté = coté.     
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("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.
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("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 = new CultureInfo("ja-JP").CompareInfo;

      // Display the result using ja-JP Compare of coté < côte. 
      outputBlock.Text += String.Format("ja-JP Compare: {0} {2} {1}",
          s2, s3, sign[ci.Compare(s2, s3) + 1]);
   }
}

// This code produces the following output.
// 
// fr-FR Compare: Coté = coté
// fr-FR Compare: coté > côte
// ja-JP Compare: coté < côte

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.