C# Language
Extension Methods
IList Extension Method Example: Comparing 2 Lists
Example
You can use the following extension method for comparing the contents of two IList< T > instances of the same type.
By default the items are compared based on their order within the list and the items themselves, passing false to the isOrdered parameter will compare only the items themselves regardless of their order.
For this method to work, the generic type (T) must override both Equals and GetHashCode methods.
Usage:
List<string> list1 = new List<string> {"a1", "a2", null, "a3"};
List<string> list2 = new List<string> {"a1", "a2", "a3", null};
list1.Compare(list2);//this gives false
list1.Compare(list2, false);//this gives true. they are equal when the order is disregarded
Method:
public static bool Compare<T>(this IList<T> list1, IList<T> list2, bool isOrdered = true)
{
if (list1 == null && list2 == null)
return true;
if (list1 == null || list2 == null || list1.Count != list2.Count)
return false;
if (isOrdered)
{
for (int i = 0; i < list2.Count; i++)
{
var l1 = list1[i];
var l2 = list2[i];
if (
(l1 == null && l2 != null) ||
(l1 != null && l2 == null) ||
(!l1.Equals(l2)))
{
return false;
}
}
return true;
}
else
{
List<T> list2Copy = new List<T>(list2);
//Can be done with Dictionary without O(n^2)
for (int i = 0; i < list1.Count; i++)
{
if (!list2Copy.Remove(list1[i]))
return false;
}
return true;
}
}
