Comparing strings is vital in programming particularly in
sorting.
For example, we want to arrange names in alphabetical order. Since names are stored as strings, we need to understand the string's
compare() method.
Syntax:
string1.compare(
string2);
| Condition |
Return Value |
| if string1 is equal to string2 |
0 |
| if string1 is greater than string2 |
> 0 |
| if string1 is less than string2 |
< 0 |
Sample Code:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main(){
// First
string string1 = "abc";
string string2 = "bcd";
string1.compare(string2);
// returns less than 0 because abc comes before bcd (a<b)
// Second
string1 = "HELLO";
string2 = "ALOHA";
string1.compare(string2);
// returns greater than 0 because HELLO comes after ALOHA (H>A)
//Third
string1 = "Hello";
string2 = "Hello";
string1.compare(string2);
// returns 0 because Hello and Hello are equal
//Fourth
string1 = "hello";
string2 = "Hello";
string1.compare(string2);
// returns greater than 0 because hello comes after Hello
return 0;
}
The
fourth example returns
greater than 0 because according to the
ASCII table, h > H.
Small letters have greater decimal values than capital letters.
The decimal value of
h is 104 while
H is 72.
 |
| ASCII Table |
