I have an interface which defines a composite key:
public interface IKey : IEquatable<IKey>
{
public bool KeyPart1 { get; }
public uint KeyPart2 { get; }
int GetHashCode(); // never gets called
}
I have an object (with an ID) to which I want to add the composite key interface:
public class MyObject: IEquatable<MyObject>, IKey
{
public MyObject(int i, (bool keyPart1, uint keyPart2) key) {
{
Id=i;
KeyPart1 = key.keyPart1;
KeyPart2 = key.keyPart2;
}
public int Id { get; }
public bool KeyPart1 { get; }
public uint KeyPart2 { get; }
public bool Equals(MyObject other) => this.Id == other.Id;
public override bool Equals(object other) => other is MyObject o && Equals(o);
public override int GetHashCode() => Id.GetHashCode();
bool IEquatable<IKey>.Equals(IKey other) => this.KeyPart1 == other.KeyPart1
&& this.KeyPart2 == other.KeyPart2;
int IKey.GetHashCode() => (KeyPart1, KeyPart2).GetHashCode(); // never gets called
}
However, when have a list of these objects and try to group them using the interface, the grouping fails:
var one = new MyObject(1, (true, 1));
var two = new MyObject(2, (true, 1));
var three = new MyObject(1, (false, 0));
var items = new[] { one, two, three };
var byId = items.GroupBy(i => i);
// result: { [one, three] }, { [two] } -- as expected
var byKey = items.GroupBy<MyObject, IKey>(i => i as IKey);
// result: { [one, two, three] } // not grouped (by 'id' or 'key')
// expected: { [one, two] }, { [three] }
I'd expected that byId would have the items grouped by the Id property, and byKey would have the items grouped by the Key property.
However, byKey is not grouped at all. It appears that the override GetHashCode() method is always used rather than the explicitly implemented interface method.
Is it possible to implement something like this, where the type of the item being grouped determines the hash method to use (avoiding an EqualityComparer)?
I noticed this problem when passing the cast objects to another method expecting an IEnumerable<IKey>. I have a few different types implementing IKey and those with an existing GetHashCode() method did not work, while the others did.
Please note the objects have been simplified here and that I cannot easily change the interfaces (e.g. to use ValueTuple instead).
The GetHashCode() used in equality is either:
the one defined via object.GetHashCode(), if no equality comparer is provided
IEqualityComparer<T>.GetHashCode(T), if an equality comparer is provided
Adding your own GetHashCode() method on your own interface does nothing, and it will never be used, as it is not part of an API that the framework/library code knows about.
So, I'd forget about IKey.GetHashCode(), and either (or both):
make MyObject.GetHashCode() provide the functionality you need, or
provide a custom equality comparer separately to the MyObject instance
There are overloads of GroupBy that accept an IEqualityComparer<TKey>, for the second option.
Related
I need to compare two List<object> but during comparison for properties having "string" value I don't want case sensitive comparison.
I have a class:
class User
{
public int Id { get;set; }
public string name { get;set; }
}
I have 2 lists List<User> olduser and List<User> newuser. I need to compare both lists but while comparing I should ignore case sensitivity of "name" field and get values in olduser not part of values in newuser.
List<User> obsoleteUsers = olduser.Except(newuser).ToList();
I need to add a condition that while comparing two lists, please ignore the case for "name" field.
You can use a custom IEqualityComparer<T>:
class UserNameComparer : IEqualityComparer<User>
{
public UserNameComparer(StringComparer comparer)
{
if (comparer == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(comparer));
this.Comparer = comparer;
}
public StringComparer Comparer { get; }
public bool Equals(User x, User y)
{
if (x == null || y == null) return true;
return Comparer.Equals(x.name, y.name);
}
public int GetHashCode(User obj)
{
return Comparer.GetHashCode(obj?.name);
}
}
You use it in Except(or other LINQ methods):
List<User> obsoleteUsers = olduser
.Except(newuser, new UserNameComparer(StringComparer.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
.ToList();
On this way you can implement multiple comparers for different requirements without changing the original class and the way it identifies duplicates(for example by the ID-property).
Note that Except(and other set based methods like Distinct) use GetHashCode to fast-check if an object equals another. That's why your class should override Equals and GetHashCode(always together) to support being used in a set based collection(like HashSet<T> or Dictionary<TKey, TValue>). Otherwise you will use the version from System.Object that just compares references and not properties.
If you want to compare for equality with your own rules, let's implement Equals and GetHashCode methods:
class User : IEquatable<User> {
// Dangerous practice: Id (and name) usually should be readonly:
// we can put instance into, say, dictionary and then change Id loosing the instance
public int Id { get; set; }
public string name { get; set; }
public bool Equals(User other) {
if (null == other)
return false;
return
Id == other.Id &&
string.Equals(name, other.name, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
}
public override bool Equals(object obj) => Equals(obj as User);
public override int GetHashCode() => Id;
}
Then you can put Except as usual
I had a problem with using .NET collections with Nsubstitue objects.
I have a base class where I implement Equals(object), CompareTo function
In the test I create two exact Nsubstitue object proxy for this base class.
After I put the object in the collection, the collection shows that these two object proxy are two different objects.
I wonder what could be the reason of this behavior, and how to define the a collection with mockups.
public class KeyTestClass : IKeyTestClass
{
public int Id { get; private set; }
public KeyTestClass()
{
Id = 1;
}
public override int GetHashCode()
{
return Id;
}
public int CompareTo(IKeyTestClass other)
{
return Id - other.Id;
}
public bool Equals(IKeyTestClass other)
{
return Id == other.Id;
}
public override bool Equals(object obj)
{
if (ReferenceEquals(null, obj)) return false;
if (ReferenceEquals(this, obj)) return true;
if (obj.GetType() != GetType()) return false;
return Equals((KeyTestClass)obj);
}
}
public interface IKeyTestClass : IComparable<IKeyTestClass>, IEquatable<IKeyTestClass>
{
int Id { get; }
}
public class KeyTestClass2 : IKeyTestClass2
{
}
public interface IKeyTestClass2
{
}
[TestClass]
public class ConsistencyRelatedTests
{
[TestMethod]
public void ValidateTestClass()
{
var dic = new Dictionary<IKeyTestClass,List<IKeyTestClass2>>();
// using new equals function defined by Nsubstittue.
var item1 = Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>();
var item2 = Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>();
item1.Id.Returns(1);
item2.Id.Returns(1);
Assert.IsTrue(item1.Equals(item2)); //false, not working
dic.Add(item1, new List<IKeyTestClass2>());
dic.Add(item2, new List<IKeyTestClass2>());
// Using real class equals method
var item3 = new KeyTestClass();
var item4 = new KeyTestClass();
Assert.IsTrue(item3.Equals(item4)); //working
dic.Add(item3, new List<IKeyTestClass2>());
dic.Add(item4, new List<IKeyTestClass2>());
}
}
In this example Equals() is implemented for KeyTestClass. That does not mean it applies to all instances of the IKeyTestClass. If we create another class KeyTestClass2 : IKeyTestClass and use default Equals we'd get exactly the same result:
var item1 = new KeyTestClass2();
var item2 = new KeyTestClass2();
Assert.IsTrue(item1.Equals(item2)); // also fails, as expected
This is pretty much what NSubstitute does when we call Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>(). It creates a new class implementing the interface, so it is completely unaware of the KeyTestClass.Equals implementation.
There are a few options here depending on what you are trying to do. Firstly, your KeyTestClass.Equals works with all IKeyTestClass instances, including substitutes, so you can use that fine:
var item1 = new KeyTestClass();
var item2 = Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>();
var item3 = Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>();
item2.Id.Returns(1);
item3.Id.Returns(42);
Assert.IsTrue(item1.Equals(item2)); // Passes (as expected)
Assert.IsFalse(item1.Equals(item3)); // Passes (as expected)
Secondly, you could substitute the IEquatable<IKeyTestClass>.Equals method on the substitutes (NOTE: not for Object.Equals, that can cause problems).
var item1 = Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>();
var item2 = Substitute.For<IKeyTestClass>();
item1.Id.Returns(1);
item2.Id.Returns(1);
item1.Equals(item2).Returns(true);
Assert.IsTrue(item1.Equals(item2)); // Passes as expected
In this case you may want to also stub out item2.Equals(item1). We can also delegate to the real logic with item1.Equals(Arg.Any<IKeyTestClass>).Returns(x => KeyTestClass.Equals(item1, x.Arg<IKeyTestClass>()) (requires a static version of Equals logic extracted), and configure each substitute with this call.
Another option to consider is to use the real KeyTestClass here (or a hand-coded test double) if at all possible. Equality can be a bit tricky in .NET due to the fallback to Object.Equals for everything, so a bit of care is needed stubbing this out when equality is a key part of the contract.
Cant find a simple answer. My problem is I am trying to compare the VALUE of an object in a list to the VALUE of an object...
my class:
public class MatchList
{
public int SomeInt { get; set; }
public decimal SomeDecimal { get; set; }
}
I create theMatchList. It seems that I can only compare the object and not the values for object with 'theMatchList.Contains...'
MatchList ML = new MatchList();
ML.SomeInt = 12;
ML.SomeDecimal = 2.3;
if (theMatchlist.Contains(ML))
{
DoSomething;
}
How do get to fire 'DoSomething'? Assuming that there is an entry in 'theMatchList' where the values equal 12 and 2.3 respectively. I know it has something to do with iequatable, but I dont quite understand how that works. Thanks in advance!
Your naming is a bit unclear, I assume that you actually have a List<MatchList> that you want to find a particular MatchList in (I suggest renaming MatchList to at least MatchItem in that case and preferable something more descriptive).
Then from the documentation of List<T>.Contains:
This method determines equality by using the default equality comparer, as defined by the object's implementation of the IEquatable<T>.Equals method for T (the type of values in the list).
So you will have to implement IEquatable<T> for your class. In addition, the advice is that
[i]f you implement Equals, you should also override the base class implementations of Object.Equals(Object) and GetHashCode so that their behavior is consistent with that of the IEquatable.Equals method.
If you implement GetHashCode, its result should not change over the lifetime of your object. In most cases, making the class immutable is sufficient. If you need to be able to update the fields, you need to implement GetHashCode differently.
So all in all, if you want to use Contains your class will end up looking something like below:
public class MatchList : IEquatable<MatchList>
{
// Note: Fields are readonly to satisfy GetHashCode contract
private readonly int someInt;
private readonly decimal someDecimal;
// Public constructor creates immutable object
public MatchList(int myInt, decimal myDecimal)
{
this.someInt = myInt;
this.myDecimal = myDecimal;
}
// Properties are now read-only too.
public int SomeInt { get { return this.someInt; } }
public decimal SomeDecimal { get { return this.someDecimal; } }
// Implementation of IEquatable<MatchList>
public bool Equals( MatchList other )
{
return (other != null)
&& (this.SomeInt == other.SomeInt)
&& (this.SomeDecimal == other.SomeDecimal);
}
// Override of Object.Equals
// Calls the IEquatable.Equals version if possible.
public override bool Equals( object obj )
{
return (obj is MatchList) && this.Equals(obj as MatchList);
}
public override int GetHashCode()
{
return (this.someInt * 17) ^ this.someDecimal.GetHashCode();
}
}
As I commented, your question is pretty unclear so I'll do my best to explain the concept.
It's pretty likely what you were trying to code is the items in the list not the list itself:
public class MatchItem : IEquatable<MatchItem>
{
public int SomeInt { get; set; }
public decimal SomeDecimal {get; set; }
public bool Equals(MatchItem item)
{
if(item == null)
return false;
return this.SomeInt == item.SomeInt && this.SomeDecimal == item.SomeDecimal;
}
// You should also override object.ToString, object.Equals & object.GetHashCode.
// Omitted for brevity here!
}
You'll note that has an implementation of IEquatable<MatchItem> which allows it to be compared to other instances of MatchItem.
Thereafter, this code will work:
var items = new List<MatchItem>()
{
new MatchItem{SomeInt = 1, SomeDecimal = 0.3M},
new MatchItem{SomeInt = 12, SomeDecimal = 2.3M}
};
var searchItem = new MatchItem{SomeInt = 1, SomeDecimal = 0.3M};
Console.WriteLine(items.Contains(searchItem)); // true
Working example: http://rextester.com/ZWNC6890
I have to distinct list of object but NOT only by ID because sometimes two different objects have same ID.
I have class:
public class MessageDTO
{
public MessageDTO(MessageDTO a)
{
this.MsgID = a.MsgID;
this.Subject = a.Subject;
this.MessageText = a.MessageText;
this.ViewedDate = a.ViewedDate;
this.CreatedDate = a.CreatedDate;
}
public int? MsgID { get; set; }
public string Subject { get; set; }
public string MessageText { get; set; }
public System.DateTime? ViewedDate { get; set; }
public System.DateTime? CreatedDate { get; set; }
}
How I can distinct list of:
List<MessageDTO> example;
Thanks
Use LINQ.
public class MessageDTOEqualityComparer : EqualityComparer<MessageDTO>
{
public bool Equals(MessageDTO a, MessageDTO b)
{
// your logic, which checks each messages properties for whatever
// grounds you need to deem them "equal." In your case, it sounds like
// this will just be a matter of iterating through each property with an
// if-not-equal-return-false block, then returning true at the end
}
public int GetHashCode(MessageDTO message)
{
// your logic, I'd probably just return the message ID if you can,
// assuming that doesn't overlap too much and that it does
// have to be equal on the two
}
}
Then
return nonDistinct.Distinct(new MessageDTOEqualityComparer());
You can also avoid the need for an extra class by overriding object.Equals(object) and object.GetHashCode() and calling the empty overload of nonDistinct.Distinct(). Make sure you recognize the implications of this decision, though: for instance, those will then become the equality-testing functions in all non-explicit scopes of their use. This might be perfect and exactly what you need, or it could lead to some unexpected consequences. Just make sure you know what you're getting into.
I you want to use other properties, you should implement IEqualityComparer interface. More on: msdn
class MsgComparer : IEqualityComparer<MessageDTO>
{
public bool Equals(MessageDTO x, MessageDTO Oy)
{
}
// If Equals() returns true for a pair of objects
// then GetHashCode() must return the same value for these objects.
public int GetHashCode(MessageDTO m)
{
//it must br overwritten also
}
}
Then:
example.Distinct(new MsgComparer());
You could also overwrite Equals in MessageDTO class:
class MessageDTO
{
// rest of members
public override bool Equals(object obj)
{
// your stuff. See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms173147%28v=vs.80%29.aspx
}
public override int GetHashCode()
{
}
}
Then it's enough:
example.Distinct();
You could use the extension method DistinctBy from the MoreLinq library:
string[] source = { "first", "second", "third", "fourth", "fifth" };
var distinct = source.DistinctBy(word => word.Length);
See here:
I recommend you using solution of #Matthew Haugen
In case you don't want to create a new class for that, there is a way to use LINQ by grouping you list by distinct field(s) then select the first item on this group. For example:
example.(e => new { e.MsgID, e.Subject }).Select(grp => grp.FirstOrDefault());
By searching though msdn c# documentation and stack overflow, I get the clear impression that Dictionary<T,T> is supposed to use GetHashCode() for checking key-uniqueness and to do look-up.
The Dictionary generic class provides a mapping from a set of keys to a set of values. Each addition to the dictionary consists of a value and its associated key. Retrieving a value by using its key is very fast, close to O(1), because the Dictionary class is implemented as a hash table.
...
The speed of retrieval depends on the quality of the hashing algorithm of the type specified for TKey.
I Use mono (in Unity3D), and after getting some weird results in my work, I conducted this experiment:
public class DictionaryTest
{
public static void TestKeyUniqueness()
{
//Test a dictionary of type1
Dictionary<KeyType1, string> dictionaryType1 = new Dictionary<KeyType1, string>();
dictionaryType1[new KeyType1(1)] = "Val1";
if(dictionaryType1.ContainsKey(new KeyType1(1)))
{
Debug.Log ("Key in dicType1 was already present"); //This line does NOT print
}
//Test a dictionary of type1
Dictionary<KeyType2, string> dictionaryType2 = new Dictionary<KeyType2, string>();
dictionaryType2[new KeyType2(1)] = "Val1";
if(dictionaryType2.ContainsKey(new KeyType2(1)))
{
Debug.Log ("Key in dicType2 was already present"); // Only this line prints
}
}
}
//This type implements only GetHashCode()
public class KeyType1
{
private int var1;
public KeyType1(int v1)
{
var1 = v1;
}
public override int GetHashCode ()
{
return var1;
}
}
//This type implements both GetHashCode() and Equals(obj), where Equals uses the hashcode.
public class KeyType2
{
private int var1;
public KeyType2(int v1)
{
var1 = v1;
}
public override int GetHashCode ()
{
return var1;
}
public override bool Equals (object obj)
{
return GetHashCode() == obj.GetHashCode();
}
}
Only the when using type KeyType2 are the keys considered equal. To me this demonstrates that Dictionary uses Equals(obj) - and not GetHashCode().
Can someone reproduce this, and help me interpret the meaning is? Is it an incorrect implementation in mono? Or have I misunderstood something.
i get the clear impression that Dictionary is supposed to use
.GetHashCode() for checking key-uniqueness
What made you think that? GetHashCode doesn't return unique values.
And MSDN clearly says:
Dictionary requires an equality implementation to
determine whether keys are equal. You can specify an implementation of
the IEqualityComparer generic interface by using a constructor that
accepts a comparer parameter; if you do not specify an implementation,
the default generic equality comparer EqualityComparer.Default is
used. If type TKey implements the System.IEquatable generic
interface, the default equality comparer uses that implementation.
Doing this:
public override bool Equals (object obj)
{
return GetHashCode() == obj.GetHashCode();
}
is wrong in the general case because you might end up with KeyType2 instances that are equal to StringBuilder, SomeOtherClass, AnythingYouCanImagine and what not instances.
You should totally do it like so:
public override bool Equals (object obj)
{
if (obj is KeyType2) {
return (obj as KeyType2).var1 == this.var1;
} else
return false;
}
When you are trying to override Equals and inherently GetHashCode you must ensure the following points (given the class MyObject) in this order (you were doing it the other way around):
1) When are 2 instances of MyObject equal ? Say you have:
public class MyObject {
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Address { get; set; }
public int Age { get; set; }
public DateTime TimeWhenIBroughtThisInstanceFromTheDatabase { get; set; }
}
And you have 1 record in some database that you need to be mapped to an instance of this class.
And you make the convention that the time you read the record from the database will be stored
in the TimeWhenIBroughtThisInstanceFromTheDatabase:
MyObject obj1 = DbHelper.ReadFromDatabase( ...some params...);
// you do that at 14:05 and thusly the TimeWhenIBroughtThisInstanceFromTheDatabase
// will be assigned accordingly
// later.. at 14:07 you read the same record into a different instance of MyClass
MyObject obj2 = DbHelper.ReadFromDatabase( ...some params...);
// (the same)
// At 14:09 you ask yourself if the 2 instances are the same
bool theyAre = obj1.Equals(obj2)
Do you want the result to be true ? I would say you do.
Therefore the overriding of Equals should like so:
public class MyObject {
...
public override bool Equals(object obj) {
if (obj is MyObject) {
var that = obj as MyObject;
return (this.Name == that.Name) &&
(this.Address == that.Address) &&
(this.Age == that.Age);
// without the syntactically possible but logically challenged:
// && (this.TimeWhenIBroughtThisInstanceFromTheDatabase ==
// that.TimeWhenIBroughtThisInstanceFromTheDatabase)
} else
return false;
}
...
}
2) ENSURE THAT whenever 2 instances are equal (as indicated by the Equals method you implement)
their GetHashCode results will be identitcal.
int hash1 = obj1.GetHashCode();
int hash2 = obj2.GetHashCode();
bool theseMustBeAlso = hash1 == hash2;
The easiest way to do that is (in the sample scenario):
public class MyObject {
...
public override int GetHashCode() {
int result;
result = ((this.Name != null) ? this.Name.GetHashCode() : 0) ^
((this.Address != null) ? this.Address.GetHashCode() : 0) ^
this.Age.GetHashCode();
// without the syntactically possible but logically challenged:
// ^ this.TimeWhenIBroughtThisInstanceFromTheDatabase.GetHashCode()
}
...
}
Note that:
- Strings can be null and that .GetHashCode() might fail with NullReferenceException.
- I used ^ (XOR). You can use whatever you want as long as the golden rule (number 2) is respected.
- x ^ 0 == x (for whatever x)