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Comparators in Java

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6 views

Comparators in Java

Uploaded by

dubeyabneesh1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Comparators in Java

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A Comparator in Java is an interface that is used to order the objects of
user-defined classes. A comparator object is capable of comparing two
objects of the same class.

Let’s take an example of a function that compares obj1 with obj2 :


public int compare(Object obj1, Object obj2):

There are 2 ways of implementing this sort method -


a. We write a custom function on our own, where we define the sorting
logic from scratch.
b. Using the Comparator interface. (Better!)

How to use sort?


Comparator interface is used to order/sort the objects of a user-defined
class.
This interface is present in the java.util package and contains 2 methods
compare(Object obj1, Object obj2) and equals(Object element).
Using a comparator, we can sort the elements based on data
members/properties. For instance, it may be on the basis of name, age,
height etc.

Method of Collections class for sorting List elements is used to sort the
elements of List by the given comparator.
public void sort(List list, ComparatorClass c)

Internal working of the sort( ) method of Collections class


sort( ) method calls the Compare method of the classes it is sorting.
To compare 2 objects, it asks “Which is greater?”
Compare method returns one of the 3 values : -1, 0, or 1.
-1 -> obj1 is less than obj2
0 -> obj1 is equal to obj2

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1 -> obj1 is greater than obj2
It uses this result to then determine if they(obj1 & obj2) should be swapped
for their sort.

To define a Customized Sorting Order


import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;

public class Solution {


public static void main (String[] args){
ArrayList<Person> list = new ArrayList<Person>();
list.add (new Person("Aman", 34));
list.add (new Person("Akbar", 42));
list.add (new Person("Anthony", 28));

Collections.sort (list);
System.out.println (list);
}
}

class Person implements Comparable<Person>{


String name;
int age;

Person(String name, int age){


this.name = name;
this.age = age;
}

/**
* This function compares 2 objects
* A person object is passed as an argument
* and returns negative integer, zero, or a positive integer
* as this object is less than, equal to, or greater than the specified object.
*/
@Override
public int compareTo(Person person){
if(this.age == person.age)
return 0;

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else
return (this.age < person.age) ? -1 : 1;
}

@Override
public String toString(){
return this.name + ":" + this.age;
}
}

Lambda Expressions in Java


A lambda expression is a short block of code which takes in parameters
and returns a value. Lambda expressions are similar to methods, but they
do not need a name and they can be implemented right in the body of a
method.

Format:
Comparator<ClassName> comparator = Comparator.comparing(o -> o.property);

Example:
Comparator<Student> comparator = Comparator.comparing(o -> o.age);
Collections.sort(students, comparator);

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