Swift Equatable

Equatable is a protocol that enables two instances of a type to be compared for equality using the == or != operators.

Syntax

In a straightforward case, for a type to conform to Equatable, all of its properties must also conform to Equatable:

struct myStruct: Equatable {
  // Properties that conform to Equatable
}

When checking for equality between two instances of the myStruct structure, all properties will be compared.

Syntax Using a Custom == Method

If a customised approach is needed for equality comparison, then a custom == method can be included so that the type can conform to Equatable:

struct myStruct: Equatable {
  // Properties

  static func == (lhs: myStruct, rhs: myStruct) -> Bool {
    // Custom logic for equality comparison
  }
}

A custom == method can be helpful if only specific properties need to be compared, or in cases when some of the properties don’t conform to Equatable.

Example

In the example below, a TeaCup structure is declared with three properties color, volume, and unit. These properties all conform to the Equatable protocol so instances of TeaCup can be compared using the == operator.

Below the TeaCup structure, two instances of TeaCup are created and compared for equality:

struct TeaCup: Equatable {
  var color: String
  var volume: Int
  var unit: Unit

  enum Unit {
    case cups, ml
  }
}

let blueCup = TeaCup(color: "Blue", volume: 237, unit: .ml)
let pinkCup = TeaCup(color: "Pink", volume: 1, unit: .cups)

if blueCup == pinkCup {
  print("Teacups are equal.")
}
else {
  print("Teacups are not equal.")
}

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Because the blueCup and pinkCup properties are not equal, the following output occurs:

Teacups are not equal.

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Example Using a Custom == Method

In the example below, a TeaCup structure is declared containing a custom == method. This method compares the volume of the teacups, converting to ml if necessary. The color property is ignored.

Following the TeaCup structure, two instances of TeaCup called blueCup and pinkCup are created and compared:

struct TeaCup: Equatable {
  var color: String
  var volume: Int
  var unit: Unit

  enum Unit {
    case cups, ml
  }

  static func == (lhs: TeaCup, rhs: TeaCup) -> Bool {
    return volume_in_ml(lhs) == volume_in_ml(rhs)

    func volume_in_ml(_ teaCup: TeaCup) -> Int {
      switch teaCup.unit {
      case .ml:
        return teaCup.volume
      case .cups:
        return teaCup.volume*237
      }
    }
  }
}

let blueCup = TeaCup(color: "Blue", volume: 237, unit: .ml)
let pinkCup = TeaCup(color: "Pink", volume: 1, unit: .cups)

if blueCup == pinkCup {
  print("Teacups are equal.")
}
else {
  print("Teacups are not equal.")
}

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Both the teacups have equal volume, so this will output:

Teacups are equal.

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