The equals() Method example in Java
By: Baski in Java Tutorials on 2007-10-13
The equals() method compares two objects for equality and returns true if they are equal. The equals() method provided in the Object class uses the identity operator (==) to determine whether two objects are equal. For primitive data types, this gives the correct result. For objects, however, it does not. The equals() method provided by Object tests whether the object references are equal-that is, if the objects compared are the exact same object.
To test whether two objects are equal in the sense of equivalency (containing the same information), you must override the equals() method. Here is an example of a Book class that overrides equals():
public class Book {
...
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (obj instanceof Book)
return ISBN.equals((Book)obj.getISBN());
else
return false;
}
}
Consider this b that tests two instances of the Book class for
equality:
Book firstBook = new Book("0201914670"); //Swing Tutorial, 2nd edition
Book secondBook = new Book("0201914670");
if (firstBook.equals(secondBook)) {
System.out.println("objects are equal");
} else {
System.out.println("objects are not equal");
}
This program displays objects are equal even though firstBook
and secondBook reference two distinct objects. They are considered
equal because the objects compared contain the same ISBN number.
You should always override the equals() method if the identity
operator is not appropriate for your class.
Note: If you override equals(), you must
override hashb() as well.
Add Comment
This policy contains information about your privacy. By posting, you are declaring that you understand this policy:
- Your name, rating, website address, town, country, state and comment will be publicly displayed if entered.
- Aside from the data entered into these form fields, other stored data about your comment will include:
- Your IP address (not displayed)
- The time/date of your submission (displayed)
- Your email address will not be shared. It is collected for only two reasons:
- Administrative purposes, should a need to contact you arise.
- To inform you of new comments, should you subscribe to receive notifications.
- A cookie may be set on your computer. This is used to remember your inputs. It will expire by itself.
This policy is subject to change at any time and without notice.
These terms and conditions contain rules about posting comments. By submitting a comment, you are declaring that you agree with these rules:
- Although the administrator will attempt to moderate comments, it is impossible for every comment to have been moderated at any given time.
- You acknowledge that all comments express the views and opinions of the original author and not those of the administrator.
- You agree not to post any material which is knowingly false, obscene, hateful, threatening, harassing or invasive of a person's privacy.
- The administrator has the right to edit, move or remove any comment for any reason and without notice.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in being banned from submitting further comments.
These terms and conditions are subject to change at any time and without notice.
- Data Science
- Android
- React Native
- AJAX
- ASP.net
- C
- C++
- C#
- Cocoa
- Cloud Computing
- HTML5
- Java
- Javascript
- JSF
- JSP
- J2ME
- Java Beans
- EJB
- JDBC
- Linux
- Mac OS X
- iPhone
- MySQL
- Office 365
- Perl
- PHP
- Python
- Ruby
- VB.net
- Hibernate
- Struts
- SAP
- Trends
- Tech Reviews
- WebServices
- XML
- Certification
- Interview
categories
Related Tutorials
Read a file having a list of telnet commands and execute them one by one using Java
Open a .docx file and show content in a TextArea using Java
Step by Step guide to setup freetts for Java
Of Object, equals (), == and hashCode ()
Using the AWS SDK for Java in Eclipse
DateFormat sample program in Java
concurrent.Flow instead of Observable class in Java
Calculator application in Java
Sending Email from Java application (using gmail)
Comments