Java Integer compare() method

The compare() method is a method of Integer class under java.lang package. This method compares two integer values numerically. It returns the result in integer equivalent value by comparing the two int method arguments. The value returned is identical to what would be returned by:

Integer.valueOf(x).compareTo(Integer.valueOf(y))

Syntax

Following is the declaration of compare() method:

Parameter:

DataType	Parameter	Description	Required/Optional
int	x	The first integer value to compare	Required
int	y	The second integer value to compare	Required

Returns:

This method will returns the following values:

0 = The value 0 if x == y,
-1 = The value less than 0 if x < y and 
1 = The value greater than 0 if x > y

Exceptions:

Compatibility Version:

Java 1.7 and above

Example 1

public class IntegerCompareExample1 {
	public static void main(String[] args) {		
	  int num1 = 10;
        int num2 = 20;
        int num3 = 10;
        int num4 = 30;
        // as num1 less than num2, Output will be less than zero
        System.out.println(Integer.compare(num1, num2));
        // as num1 equals num3, Output will be zero
        System.out.println(Integer.compare(num1, num3));
        // as num4 is greater than num2, Output will be greater than zero
        System.out.println(Integer.compare(num4, num2));
	}
}

Output:

-1
0
1

Example 2

import java.util.Scanner;
public class IntegerCompareExample2 {
	public static void main(String[] args) {	
		Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
		System.out.print("Enter the first numeric value: ");
		int number1 = sc.nextInt();
		System.out.print("Enter the second numeric value: ");
		int number2 = sc.nextInt();
		sc.close();
		// compares two Integer values numerically      
	      int retResult =  Integer.compare(number1, number2);  
	      if(retResult > 0) {
	         System.out.println("number1 is greater than number2");
	      } else if(retResult< 0) {
	         System.out.println("number1 is less than number2");
	      } else {
	         System.out.println("number1 is equal to number2");
	      }
	}
}

Output:

Enter the first numeric value: 55
Enter the second numeric value: 66
number1 is less than number2

Example 3

public class IntegerCompareExample3 {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		System.out.println(Integer.compare(200, 100));
		System.out.println(Integer.compare(200, 200));
		System.out.println(Integer.compare(100, 150));
	}
}

Output: