`StringBuilder` `Equals`

Two StringBuilder instances may have the same string contents. We test them for equality. The Equals instance method is ideal for this.

Equals() doesn't copy any characters or cause excessive method calls. But it will check the capacities of the StringBuilders.

Example code

The example shows an Equals test that succeeds. The 2 StringBuilder objects in the example both contain the same chars and have the same capacity.

Important We can test StringBuilder references for equality using the equality operator, but this uses the Object.Equals method.

And The test would not succeed because the two references are different. It does not test the character contents.

using System;
using System.Text;

// Create two StringBuilders with the same contents.
StringBuilder builder1 = new StringBuilder();
builder1.Append("One ");
builder1.Append("two");

StringBuilder builder2 = new StringBuilder();
builder2.Append("One ");
builder2.Append("two");

// See if the StringBuilder contents are equal.
if (builder1.Equals(builder2))
{
    Console.WriteLine("Equal");
}
Equal

Implementation

Equals returns true when 3 conditions are true. Two objects must have the same capacity, the same MaxCapacity, and the same characters in their buffers.

Tip If you create two StringBuilders with the same contents but with different capacities, they will not evaluate true.

Sometimes you may need to test 2 StringBuilders that may have different capacities but the same contents. To do this, iterate through their characters with the indexer.

Note This requirement is unlikely, but you may need to develop a custom Equals method.

We used the Equals instance method on StringBuilder. This method is overridden and provides a powerful and efficient way to test two StringBuilders for equality.

StringBuilder Equals

Example code

Implementation

Contents

`StringBuilder` `Equals`