Java Long compare() Method

Java compare() method belongs to the Long class. This method is used to compare the value of two long values numerically to find which one is greater than the other.

The compare(long x, long y) method returns the value

• 0, if the value of x and y are equal.

• -1, if the value of x is less than y.

• 1, if the value of x is more than y.

Syntax:

public static int compare(long x, long y)

Parameters:

The parameters passed consists of two long values long x and long y that represents the first and second values to be compared respectively.

Returns:

Value 0, 1, -1 is returned depending upon the values of x and y.

Example 1:

Here, four long values n1, n2, n3, n4 are taken with respective positive values and are checked for the values are either less, more, or equal than the compared values.

import java.lang.Long;

public class StudyTonight 
{  
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {          
        long n1 = 100L;  
        long n2 = 200L;  
        long n3 = 300L;  
        long n4 = 100L;  
          
        System.out.println(Long.compare(n1, n2));  //Output will be less than zero
        
        System.out.println(Long.compare(n3, n1)); // Output will be greater than zero  
        
        System.out.println(Long.compare(n1,n4));  // Output will be equal to zero
    }  
}

-1
1
0

Example 2:

Here, four long values n1, n2, n3, n4 are taken in an array and are checked for the values are either less, more, or equal when compared with the first value of the array.

import java.lang.Long;

public class StudyTonight 
{  
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {          
        long []n = {-100L,-200L,300L,-100L};  
      
        for(int i=0;i<4;i++)
        {
            System.out.println(Long.compare(n[0], n[i]));  
        }  
    } 
}

0
1
-1
0

Example 3:

Here is a general example where the user can enter the numbers of his choice and get the desired output. The try and catch block (Java Try and Catch) is used for handling any exception taking place during the execution of the program. (For example, the user enters a String, etc. in place of the long).

import java.util.Scanner; 
import java.lang.Long;

public class StudyTonight 
{  
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {      
        Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);  
        System.out.print("Enter first and second number ");  
        try
        {
            long n1 = sc.nextLong();  
            long n2 = sc.nextLong();  
            int r =  Long.compare(n1, n2);    
            if(r > 0)
            {  
                System.out.println("first number is greater");  
            }
            else if(r < 0) 
            {  
                System.out.println("second number is greater");  
            } 
            else
            {  
                System.out.println("both numbers are equal");
            }
        }
        catch(Exception e)
        {
            System.out.println("Error!!");
        }  
    }  
}  

Enter first and second number 90 567
second number is greater
************************************************
Enter first and second number 678 44
first number is greater
************************************************
Enter first and second number 0x56 0x533
Error!!

Live Example:

Here, you can test the live code example. You can execute the example for different values, even can edit and write your examples to test the Java code.