String compareTo(String anotherString)

Description

This method compares two strings lexicographically.

Syntax

Here is the syntax of this method −

int compareTo(String anotherString)

Parameters

Here is the detail of parameters −

• anotherString − the String to be compared.

Return Value

• The value 0 if the argument is a string lexicographically equal to this string; a value less than 0 if the argument is a string lexicographically greater than this string; and a value greater than 0 if the argument is a string lexicographically less than this string.

Example

public class Test {

   public static void main(String args[]) {
      String str1 = "Strings are immutable";
      String str2 = "Strings are immutable";
      String str3 = "Integers are not immutable";
      
      int result = str1.compareTo( str2 );
      System.out.println(result);
      
      result = str2.compareTo( str3 );
      System.out.println(result);
      
      result = str3.compareTo( str1 );
      System.out.println(result);
   }
}

This will produce the following result −

Output

0
10
-10