Do you know how to compare two strings in Java? Have you ever thought about how to compare two strings in Java using If statement? Well, if you’re curious to know about the comparison and looking for Java online help then this article is for you.
But before we start thinking about how to compare two strings in Java using If statement, we have to think about the necessity to compare two strings in Java. Let us try to find the answer from daily life situations.
Let us assume one scenario:
Suppose, you visited a mall with your mother. Your mother asked you that, you can buy a shirt for yourself. So, you roam around & choose two shirts. You find those two shirts to be very unique & attractive. But your mother will allow you to buy only one.
So, what will you do in such cases? You will start comparing those.
You will compare two shirts with each other. Then compare it from different parameters like color, shape, fittings, etc. After comparing, you will come to an end & choose anyone from them.
This is the importance of comparing in our daily life. It helps to decide a better way. The same thing happens in the case of computer science also.
In computer science, there are string comparing systems in every programming language. We can also compare two strings in JavaScript. It is very easy to compare two strings in JavaScript. Here, we are going to see, the possible methods to compare strings in Java.
But before we start our main out the main topic, let us know briefly about the Java programming language.
What Is Java Programming Language? Get To Know More
Java is an important programming language. It is being used by companies to develop several applications & software. It is an Object-Oriented Programming Language. Java is quite developed from the C++ programming language. It uses the OOPs concept. That is why it is highly used throughout the globe. Several options make it easy to write programs in Java.
There are Classes, Methods, Polymorphism, Inheritance, etc. These features are the main building blocks of the Java programming language. There are many libraries & other in-built functions are available. These help to perform some difficult tasks quickly. Java is also known to form its frameworks. Several frameworks help to reduce the pressure on the developer while developing any software. Moreover, Java is the most important programming language.
Why is it Important To Compare Two Strings In Java? Read Below
It is very important to compare two strings in Java. It helps to understand the basics of the strings. Also, it’s very important to know the basic difference between Comparable and Comparator in Java, if you’re not aware then you can read our article on “What is The Difference Between Comparator and Comparable In Java?”.
Suppose, in a question, you are asked to operate & provide some output. You have to compare two strings in Java. If you don’t know the possible methods to compare two strings in Java, it will be very difficult for you.
Sometimes individuals want to know how to compare two strings in Java using If statement. Using the If statement for comparing two strings in Java is a very old method. Java is now a highly developed language. Many methods help to find out the relation between two strings.
Strings can be a field of the name, occupation, etc. It can be used to be a field for those cases which takes a large statement. Sometimes for developing purposes, we need to compare two strings in Java. In such cases, we need to use some methods which are small in size. Methods that will take a large size in the code will not be a proper implementation. That is why it is important to know the methods to compare two strings in Java.
What Are Methods To Compare Two Strings In Java?
There are three short methods are present to compare two strings in Java. Some of them are the inbuild functions of the Java programming language. Using these methods not only helps you to shorten the code. But also it will be implemented by not using the If statement. The methods are:
- Using equals() method
- Using Equals-To (= =) operator
- Using comapreTo() method
Let us know about each method one by one briefly. Also, if you’re curious to know about the methods of comparing strings in Python then you check out our article on “ How To Compare Strings In Python?”
Compare Two Strings In Java Using equals() Method:
Here, in this case, we need to first declare some strings. These strings will help to compare. So, we have to create the strings in such a manner.
Then we will use the equals() method. This method compare two strings in Java. The first & the second string will be compared. After comparing, it will provide the output in the Boolean manner. This means if both the strings are equal to each other, it will print the ‘true’. If the two strings are not equal to each other, then it will print ‘false’.
Here, we have taken the first string & third string as ‘CodingZap’ & the second string as ‘ZapOne’. Comparing the strings between first & second will provide the output ‘false’. As they are not equal. Comparing the first & third will print ‘true’. As both the strings are the same.
General Syntax: string1.equals(string2)
Example:
public class Main{
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Declaring The Strings
String s1="CodingZap";
String s2="ZapOne";
String s3="CodingZap";
// Comparing The First & Second Strings And Printing The Output
System.out.println("Comparing Between S1 & S2: "+ s1.equals(s2));
// Comparing The First & Third Strings And Printing The Output
System.out.println("Comparing Between S1 & S3: "+ s1.equals(s3));
}}
Let’s look at the output of the above code.
Output:
Compare Two Strings In Java Using Equals-To (= =) Operator:
Here, also we need to perform the same operations. We need to declare some strings for comparing purposes. Then we need to use the Equals-To (= =) operator. This is the same operator which helps to compare two numbers. This can also be used to compare two strings in Java.
It also provides the output in a Boolean manner. If both the strings are equal to each other, it will print the ‘true’. If the two strings are not equal to each other, then it will print ‘false’.
Here we have taken the same example as in the above. So, it will provide the same output here also.
General Syntax: string1 = = string2
Example:
public class Main{
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Declaring The Strings
String s1="CodingZap";
String s2="ZapOne";
String s3="CodingZap";
// Comparing The First & Second Strings And Printing The Output
System.out.println(s1==s2);
// Comparing The First & Third Strings And Printing The Output
System.out.println(s1==s3);
}}
Let’s look at the output of the above code. It will help us to compare two strings in Java.
Output:
Compare Two Strings In Java Using The compareTo() Method:
Here, in this case, also, we have taken some strings from comparing. This method is quite different. If the two strings are the same, then it will print the 0 as the output. Suppose , the second string is less than the first string, then it will print some negative value. If the second string is greater than the first string then it will print a positive value.
In this case, we have taken the same example as above. But here the output will be different. First, it will provide a negative output. As there is a length difference between two strings.
But the second output will be zero. As there is no length difference between two strings.
General Syntax: string1.compareTo(string2)
Example:
public class Main{
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Declaring The Strings
String s1="CodingZap";
String s2="ZapOne";
String s3="CodingZap";
// Comparing The First & Second Strings And Printing The Output
System.out.println("Comparing Between S1 & S2: "+ s1.compareTo(s2));
// Comparing The First & Third Strings And Printing The Output
System.out.println("Comparing Between S1 & S3: "+ s1.compareTo(s3));
}}
Let’s look at the output of the above code. It will help us to compare two strings in Java.
Output:
Conclusion:
As we saw compare two strings in Java is very important to know.
We have to clear the basics of the Java programming language to understand the concept in a good manner. You can check out our article on “How To Print An Array In Java?” to clear some of your basic concepts of Java.
As per the choice of the individual, they can use any method mentioned above. It is a very useful implementation.
So, hope you have liked this piece of article. Share your thoughts in the comments section and let us know if we can improve more.
If you are looking for Final Year Java Project Ideas then you can contact us as well.
