• Article

StringComparer.Compare Method (Object, Object)

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

When overridden in a derived class, compares two objects and returns an indication of their relative sort order.

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

Syntax

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

public int Compare(
    Object x,
    Object y
)

Parameters

Return Value

Type: System.Int32

Value

Meaning

Less than zero

x is less than y.

-or-

x is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Zero

x is equal to y.

Greater than zero

x is greater than y.

-or-

y is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Implements

IComparer.Compare(Object, Object)

Exceptions

Exception Condition
ArgumentException

Neither x nor y is a String object, and neither x nor y implements the IComparable interface.

Remarks

The StringComparer.Compare(String, String) method is more efficient than the StringComparer.Compare(Object, Object) method because the x and y parameters do not have to be unboxed to perform the comparison.

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.