Java .compareTo()

The .compareTo() method of the Calendar class is used to compare the time values or the millisecond offsets of two Calendar objects.

Syntax

result = myCalendar.compareTo()

The method returns an Integer value and can return any one of the following:

• The method returns 0 if the otherCalendar is equal to the myCalendar object.
• The method returns 1 if the time of the myCalendar object is ahead of the otherCalendar object.
• The method returns -1 if the time of the myCalendar object is behind the otherCalendar object.

Example

This example illustrates a basic implementation of the .compareTo() method:

import java.util.*;

public class CalendarClassDemo {
  public static void main(String args[])
  {
    // Creating a calendar object
    Calendar calndr1 = Calendar.getInstance();

    // Creating another calendar object
    Calendar calndr2 = new GregorianCalendar(2018, 12, 2);

    // Comparing the time
    int val = calndr1.compareTo(calndr2);

    // Displaying the result of comparison
    System.out.println("First" + " comparison result is: " + val);

    // Comparing the time
    val = calndr2.compareTo(calndr1);

    // Displaying the result of comparison
    System.out.println("Second"+ " comparison result is: "+ val);
  }
}

Copy to clipboard
Copy to clipboard

Output for the above code will be:

First comparison result is: 1
Second comparison result is: -1

Copy to clipboard
Copy to clipboard