| The contract for `Comparator#compare` and `Comparable#compareTo` states that the | |
| result is an integer which is `< 0` for less than, `== 0` for equality and `> 0` | |
| for greater than. While most implementations return `-1`, `0` and `+1` for those | |
| cases respectively, this is not guaranteed. Always comparing to `0` is the | |
| safest use of the return value. | |
| ```java | |
| boolean <T> isLessThan(Comparator<T> comparator, T a, T b) { | |
| // Fragile: it's not guaranteed that `comparator` returns -1 to mean | |
| // "less than". | |
| return comparator.compare(a, b) == -1; | |
| } | |
| ``` | |
| ```java | |
| boolean <T> isLessThan(Comparator<T> comparator, T a, T b) { | |
| return comparator.compare(a, b) < 0; | |
| } | |
| ``` | |
| Even comparisons which are otherwise correct are clearer to other readers of the | |
| code if turned into a comparison to `0`, e.g.: | |
| ```java | |
| boolean <T> greaterThan(Comparator<T> comparator, T a, T b) { | |
| return comparator.compare(a, b) >= 1; | |
| } | |
| ``` | |
| ```java | |
| boolean <T> greaterThan(Comparator<T> comparator, T a, T b) { | |
| return comparator.compare(a, b) > 0; | |
| } | |
| ``` |