Comparer<T>.Compare Method

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When overridden in a derived class, performs a comparison of two objects of the same type and returns a value indicating whether one object is less than, equal to, or greater than the other.

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

Syntax

'Declaration
Public MustOverride Function Compare ( _
    x As T, _
    y As T _
) As Integer
public abstract int Compare(
    T x,
    T y
)

Parameters

  • x
    Type: T
    The first object to compare.
  • y
    Type: T
    The second object to compare.

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.

Implements

IComparer<T>.Compare(T, T)

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentException

Type T does not implement either the System.IComparable<T> generic interface or the System.IComparable interface.

Remarks

Implement this method to provide a customized sort order comparison for type T.

Notes to Implementers

Comparing nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) with any reference type is allowed and does not generate an exception. A null reference is considered to be less than any reference that is not null.

For information on culture-specific comparisons, see the System.Globalization namespace.

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.