org.springframework.expression

Interface TypeComparator

All Known Implementing Classes:

StandardTypeComparator

public interface TypeComparator

Instances of a type comparator should be able to compare pairs of objects for equality. The specification of the return value is the same as for Comparable.

Since:

3.0

Author:

Andy Clement

See Also:

Comparable

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
boolean	canCompare(Object firstObject, Object secondObject) Return true if the comparator can compare these two objects.
int	compare(Object firstObject, Object secondObject) Compare two given objects.

Method Detail

canCompare

boolean canCompare(@Nullable
                   Object firstObject,
                   @Nullable
                   Object secondObject)

Return true if the comparator can compare these two objects.

Parameters:

firstObject - the first object

secondObject - the second object

Returns:

true if the comparator can compare these objects

compare

int compare(@Nullable
            Object firstObject,
            @Nullable
            Object secondObject)
     throws EvaluationException

Compare two given objects.

Parameters:

firstObject - the first object

secondObject - the second object

Returns:

0 if they are equal, <0 if the first is smaller than the second, or >0 if the first is larger than the second

Throws:

EvaluationException - if a problem occurs during comparison (or if they are not comparable in the first place)