CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javafilecompare
Kazman
Kazman

Reputation: 155

How to compare two files in java when the order of elements does'nt matter

I want to compare 2 files and check that the contents are equals. But the problem is the data in the files are not in the same order. the equals() method returns me false even if the contents are equal when the elements are not placed in the same order. How can I compare these files in java by ignoring the order ? Best regards!

Upvotes: 2

Views: 2138

Answers (2)

nafas
nafas

Reputation: 5423

Here is the code u want: 

 Scanner input1= new Scanner(new File("C:/file1.txt");
 Scanner input2= new Scanner(new File("C:/file2.txt");
 String one= input1.nextLine();//assuming files contain only one line
 String two= input2.nextLine();//assuming files contain only one line
 Set<String> set1 = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(one.split(";"));
 Set<String> set2 = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(two.split(";"));

 System.out.println(set1.equals(set2));

Upvotes: 3

Peter Lawrey
Peter Lawrey

Reputation: 533820

Add all the elements to sets and compare the sets. Note: sets will ignore duplicates.

Or you can sort all the elements and compare the results. How you sort them doesn't matter provided the sorting it consistent. i.e. the original order doesn't change the result. Use this if there are duplicates.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions