Java String equals()

The Java String class equals() method compares the two given strings based on the content of the string. If any character is not matched, it returns false. If all characters are matched, it returns true.

The String equals() method overrides the equals() method of the Object class.

Signature

Parameter

anotherObject : another object, i.e., compared with this string.

Returns

true if characters of both strings are equal otherwise false.

Internal implementation

public boolean equals(Object anObject) {  
      if (this == anObject) {  
          return true;  
      }  
      if (anObject instanceof String) {  
          String anotherString = (String) anObject;  
          int n = value.length;  
          if (n == anotherString.value.length) {  
              char v1[] = value;  
              char v2[] = anotherString.value;  
              int i = 0;  
              while (n-- != 0) {  
                  if (v1[i] != v2[i])  
                          return false;  
                  i++;  
              }  
              return true;  
          }  
      }  
      return false;  
  }  

Java String equals() Method Example

FileName: EqualsExample.java

public class EqualsExample{
public static void main(String args[]){
String s1="javatpoint";
String s2="javatpoint";
String s3="JAVATPOINT";
String s4="python";
System.out.println(s1.equals(s2));//true because content and case is same
System.out.println(s1.equals(s3));//false because case is not same
System.out.println(s1.equals(s4));//false because content is not same
}}

Test it Now

Output:

true
false
false

Java String equals() Method Example 2

The equals() method compares two strings and can be used in if-else control structure.

FileName: EqualsExample2.java

public class EqualsExample2 {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		String s1 = "javatpoint";  
		String s2 = "javatpoint";  
		String s3 = "Javatpoint";
		System.out.println(s1.equals(s2)); // True because content is same  
		if (s1.equals(s3)) {
			System.out.println("both strings are equal");
		}else System.out.println("both strings are unequal");	
	}
}

Output:

true
both strings are unequal

Java String equals() Method Example 3

Let's see one more example to test the equality of string present in the list.

FileName: EqualsExample3.java

import java.util.ArrayList;
public class EqualsExample3 {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		String str1 = "Mukesh";
		ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
		list.add("Ravi"); 
		list.add("Mukesh");
		list.add("Ramesh");
		list.add("Ajay");
		for (String str : list) {
			if (str.equals(str1)) {
				System.out.println("Mukesh is present");
			}
		}
	}
}

Output:

Mukesh is present

Java String equals() Method Example 4

The internal implementation of the equals() method shows that one can pass the reference of any object in the parameter of the method. The following example shows the same.

FileName: EqualsExample4.java

public class EqualsExample4 
{
// main method
public static void main(String argvs[])
{
// Strings
String str = "a";
String str1 = "123";
String str2 = "45.89";
String str3 = "false";
Character c = new Character('a');
Integer i = new Integer(123);
Float f = new Float(45.89);
Boolean b = new Boolean(false);
// reference of the Character object is passed
System.out.println(str.equals(c));
// reference of the Integer object is passed
System.out.println(str1.equals(i));
// reference of the Float object is passed
System.out.println(str2.equals(f));
// reference of the Boolean object is passed
System.out.println(str3.equals(b));
// the above print statements show a false value because
// we are comparing a String with different data types
// To achieve the true value, we have to convert 
// the different data types into the string using the toString() method
System.out.println(str.equals(c.toString()));
System.out.println(str1.equals(i.toString()));
System.out.println(str2.equals(f.toString()));
System.out.println(str3.equals(b.toString()));
}
}

Output:

false
false
false
false
true
true
true
true

Next TopicJava String equalsIgnoreCase()

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Java String equals()

Signature

Parameter

Returns

Internal implementation

Java String equals() Method Example

Java String equals() Method Example 2

Java String equals() Method Example 3

Java String equals() Method Example 4