NullableString.Compare Method (NullableString, Int32, NullableString, Int32, Int32, Boolean)

Compares substrings of the two specified NullableString structures.

[Visual Basic]
Overloads Public Shared Function Compare( _
   ByVal a As NullableString, _
   ByVal indexA As Integer, _
   ByVal b As NullableString, _
   ByVal indexB As Integer, _
   ByVal length As Integer, _
   ByVal ignoreCase As Boolean _
) As Integer

[C#]
public static int Compare(
   NullableString a,
   int indexA,
   NullableString b,
   int indexB,
   int length,
   bool ignoreCase
);

Parameters

a: A NullableString structure.
indexA: The position of the substring within a.
b: A NullableString structure.
indexB: The position of the substring within b.
length: The maximum number of characters in the substrings to compare.
ignoreCase: A Boolean indicating a case-sensitive or insensitive comparison. (true indicates a case-insensitive comparison).

Return Value

A 32-bit signed integer indicating the lexical relationship between the two comparands.

Value	Description
A negative integer	the substring in a is less than the substring in b.
Zero	the substring in a is equal to the substring in b.
A positive integer	the substring in a is greater than the substring in b. -or- b is Null.

Remarks

indexA and indexB are zero-based. length cannot be negative. If length is zero, then zero is returned. The number of characters compared is the lesser of the length of a less indexA, the length of b less indexB, and length. By definition, any NullableString, including the Empty string, compares greater than Null; and two Null compare equal to each other. This method performs a case-sensitive operation. The method uses the current culture to determine the ordering of individual characters. Uppercase letters evaluate greater than their lowercase equivalents. The two NullableString are compared on a character-by-character basis.

Exceptions

Exception Type	Condition
ArgumentOutOfRangeException	The sum of indexA and length is greater than a. -or- The sum of indexB and length is greater than b. -or- indexA, indexB or length is negative.

Exception Type

Condition

ArgumentOutOfRangeException

The sum of indexA and length is greater than a.

-or-

The sum of indexB and length is greater than b.