CaseInsensitiveComparer Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Collections

Assembly:

System.Collections.NonGeneric.dll

Source:

CaseInsensitiveComparer.cs

Compares two objects for equivalence, ignoring the case of strings.

public ref class CaseInsensitiveComparer : System::Collections::IComparer

public class CaseInsensitiveComparer : System.Collections.IComparer

type CaseInsensitiveComparer = class
    interface IComparer

Public Class CaseInsensitiveComparer
Implements IComparer

Inheritance

Object

CaseInsensitiveComparer

Implements

IComparer

Examples

The following code example creates a case-sensitive hash table and a case-insensitive hash table and demonstrates the difference in their behavior, even if both contain the same elements.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Collections;
using namespace System::Globalization;
int main()
{
   
   // Create a Hashtable using the default hash code provider and the default comparer.
   Hashtable^ myHT1 = gcnew Hashtable;
   myHT1->Add( "FIRST", "Hello" );
   myHT1->Add( "SECOND", "World" );
   myHT1->Add( "THIRD", "!" );
   
   // Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
   // based on the culture of the current thread.
   Hashtable^ myHT2 = gcnew Hashtable( gcnew CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider,gcnew CaseInsensitiveComparer );
   myHT2->Add( "FIRST", "Hello" );
   myHT2->Add( "SECOND", "World" );
   myHT2->Add( "THIRD", "!" );
   
   // Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
   // based on the InvariantCulture.
   Hashtable^ myHT3 = gcnew Hashtable( CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider::DefaultInvariant,CaseInsensitiveComparer::DefaultInvariant );
   myHT3->Add( "FIRST", "Hello" );
   myHT3->Add( "SECOND", "World" );
   myHT3->Add( "THIRD", "!" );
   
   // Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
   // based on the Turkish culture (tr-TR), where "I" is not the uppercase version of "i".
   CultureInfo^ myCul = gcnew CultureInfo( "tr-TR" );
   Hashtable^ myHT4 = gcnew Hashtable( gcnew CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider( myCul ),gcnew CaseInsensitiveComparer( myCul ) );
   myHT4->Add( "FIRST", "Hello" );
   myHT4->Add( "SECOND", "World" );
   myHT4->Add( "THIRD", "!" );
   
   // Search for a key in each hashtable.
   Console::WriteLine( "first is in myHT1: {0}", myHT1->ContainsKey( "first" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "first is in myHT2: {0}", myHT2->ContainsKey( "first" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "first is in myHT3: {0}", myHT3->ContainsKey( "first" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "first is in myHT4: {0}", myHT4->ContainsKey( "first" ) );
}

/* 
This code produces the following output.  Results vary depending on the system's culture settings.

first is in myHT1: False
first is in myHT2: True
first is in myHT3: True
first is in myHT4: False

*/

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Globalization;

public class SamplesHashtable  {

   public static void Main()  {

      // Create a Hashtable using the default hash code provider and the default comparer.
      Hashtable myHT1 = new Hashtable();
      myHT1.Add("FIRST", "Hello");
      myHT1.Add("SECOND", "World");
      myHT1.Add("THIRD", "!");

      // Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
      // based on the culture of the current thread.
      Hashtable myHT2 = new Hashtable( new CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider(), new CaseInsensitiveComparer() );
      myHT2.Add("FIRST", "Hello");
      myHT2.Add("SECOND", "World");
      myHT2.Add("THIRD", "!");

      // Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
      // based on the InvariantCulture.
      Hashtable myHT3 = new Hashtable( CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider.DefaultInvariant, CaseInsensitiveComparer.DefaultInvariant );
      myHT3.Add("FIRST", "Hello");
      myHT3.Add("SECOND", "World");
      myHT3.Add("THIRD", "!");

      // Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
      // based on the Turkish culture (tr-TR), where "I" is not the uppercase version of "i".
      CultureInfo myCul = new CultureInfo( "tr-TR" );
      Hashtable myHT4 = new Hashtable( new CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider( myCul ), new CaseInsensitiveComparer( myCul ) );
      myHT4.Add("FIRST", "Hello");
      myHT4.Add("SECOND", "World");
      myHT4.Add("THIRD", "!");

      // Search for a key in each hashtable.
      Console.WriteLine( "first is in myHT1: {0}", myHT1.ContainsKey( "first" ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "first is in myHT2: {0}", myHT2.ContainsKey( "first" ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "first is in myHT3: {0}", myHT3.ContainsKey( "first" ) );
      Console.WriteLine( "first is in myHT4: {0}", myHT4.ContainsKey( "first" ) );
   }
}


/*
This code produces the following output.  Results vary depending on the system's culture settings.

first is in myHT1: False
first is in myHT2: True
first is in myHT3: True
first is in myHT4: False

*/

Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Globalization

Public Class SamplesHashtable

   Public Shared Sub Main()

      ' Create a Hashtable using the default hash code provider and the default comparer.
      Dim myHT1 As New Hashtable()
      myHT1.Add("FIRST", "Hello")
      myHT1.Add("SECOND", "World")
      myHT1.Add("THIRD", "!")

      ' Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
      ' based on the culture of the current thread.
      Dim myHT2 As New Hashtable(New CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider(), New CaseInsensitiveComparer())
      myHT2.Add("FIRST", "Hello")
      myHT2.Add("SECOND", "World")
      myHT2.Add("THIRD", "!")

      ' Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
      ' based on the InvariantCulture.
      Dim myHT3 As New Hashtable(CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider.DefaultInvariant, CaseInsensitiveComparer.DefaultInvariant)
      myHT3.Add("FIRST", "Hello")
      myHT3.Add("SECOND", "World")
      myHT3.Add("THIRD", "!")

      ' Create a Hashtable using a case-insensitive code provider and a case-insensitive comparer,
      ' based on the Turkish culture (tr-TR), where "I" is not the uppercase version of "i".
      Dim myCul As New CultureInfo("tr-TR")
      Dim myHT4 As New Hashtable(New CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider(myCul), New CaseInsensitiveComparer(myCul))
      myHT4.Add("FIRST", "Hello")
      myHT4.Add("SECOND", "World")
      myHT4.Add("THIRD", "!")

      ' Search for a key in each hashtable.
      Console.WriteLine("first is in myHT1: {0}", myHT1.ContainsKey("first"))
      Console.WriteLine("first is in myHT2: {0}", myHT2.ContainsKey("first"))
      Console.WriteLine("first is in myHT3: {0}", myHT3.ContainsKey("first"))
      Console.WriteLine("first is in myHT4: {0}", myHT4.ContainsKey("first"))

   End Sub

End Class


'This code produces the following output.  Results vary depending on the system's culture settings.
'
'first is in myHT1: False
'first is in myHT2: True
'first is in myHT3: True
'first is in myHT4: False

Remarks

CaseInsensitiveComparer implements the IComparer interface supporting case-insensitive comparisons on strings, just as CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider implements the IHashCodeProvider interface supporting case-insensitive comparisons on strings.

Important

We don't recommend that you use the CaseInsensitiveComparer class for new development. Instead, we recommend that you use the System.StringComparer object returned by the StringComparer.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase, StringComparer.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase, or StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase property.

The Comparer class is the default implementation of the IComparer interface and performs case-sensitive string comparisons.

The objects used as keys by a Hashtable are required to override the Object.GetHashCode method (or the IHashCodeProvider interface) and the Object.Equals method (or the IComparer interface). The implementation of both methods or interfaces must handle case sensitivity the same way; otherwise, the Hashtable might behave incorrectly. For example, when creating a Hashtable, you must use this class with the CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider class or any case-insensitive IHashCodeProvider implementation.

String comparisons might have different results depending on the culture. For more information on culture-specific comparisons, see the System.Globalization namespace and Globalization and Localization.

Constructors

CaseInsensitiveComparer()	Initializes a new instance of the CaseInsensitiveComparer class using the CurrentCulture of the current thread.
CaseInsensitiveComparer(CultureInfo)	Initializes a new instance of the CaseInsensitiveComparer class using the specified CultureInfo.

Properties

Default	Gets an instance of CaseInsensitiveComparer that is associated with the CurrentCulture of the current thread and that is always available.
DefaultInvariant	Gets an instance of CaseInsensitiveComparer that is associated with InvariantCulture and that is always available.

Methods

Compare(Object, Object)	Performs a case-insensitive comparison of two objects of the same type and returns a value indicating whether one is less than, equal to, or greater than the other.
Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• IComparer
• IComparable
• Comparer
• CompareInfo
• CurrentCulture
• CultureInfo
• CaseInsensitiveHashCodeProvider
• Performing Culture-Insensitive String Operations in Collections