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## org.apache.commons.beanutils
Class BeanComparator

    java.lang.Object
      org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanComparator

All Implemented Interfaces:
  Serializable, Comparator

    public class BeanComparator

extends Object
implements Comparator, Serializable

This comparator compares two beans by the specified bean property. It is also possible to compare beans based on nested, indexed, combined, mapped bean properties. Please see the `PropertyUtilsBean` documentation for all property name possibilities.

Note: The BeanComparator passes the values of the specified bean property to a ComparableComparator, if no comparator is specified in the constructor. If you are comparing two beans based on a property that could contain "null" values, a suitable `Comparator` or `ComparatorChain` should be supplied in the constructor.

Author:
  Eric Pugh, Tim O'Brien
See Also:
  Serialized Form

Constructor Summary
`BeanComparator()` Constructs a Bean Comparator without a property set.
`BeanComparator(String property)` Constructs a property-based comparator for beans.
`BeanComparator(String property, Comparator comparator)` Constructs a property-based comparator for beans.

Method Summary
`int` | `compare(Object o1, Object o2)` Compare two JavaBeans by their shared property.
`boolean` | `equals(Object o)` Two `BeanComparator`'s are equals if and only if the wrapped comparators and the property names to be compared are equal.
`Comparator` | `getComparator()` Gets the Comparator being used to compare beans.
`String` | `getProperty()` Gets the property attribute of the BeanComparator
`int` | `hashCode()` Hashcode compatible with equals.
`void` | `setProperty(String property)` Sets the method to be called to compare two JavaBeans

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
`clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait`

Constructor Detail

### BeanComparator

    public BeanComparator()

  Constructs a Bean Comparator without a property set.

  Note that this is intended to be used only in bean-centric environments.

  Until `setProperty(java.lang.String)` is called with a non-null value. this comparator will compare the Objects only.

### BeanComparator

    public BeanComparator(String property)

  Constructs a property-based comparator for beans. This compares two beans by the property specified in the property parameter. This constructor creates a `BeanComparator` that uses a `ComparableComparator` to compare the property values.

  Passing "null" to this constructor will cause the BeanComparator to compare objects based on natural order, that is `java.lang.Comparable`.

  Parameters:
    `property` - String Name of a bean property, which may contain the name of a simple, nested, indexed, mapped, or combined property. See `PropertyUtilsBean` for property query language syntax. If the property passed in is null then the actual objects will be compared

### BeanComparator

    public BeanComparator(String property,
                          Comparator comparator)

  Constructs a property-based comparator for beans. This constructor creates a BeanComparator that uses the supplied Comparator to compare the property values.

  Parameters:
    `property` - Name of a bean property, can contain the name of a simple, nested, indexed, mapped, or combined property. See `PropertyUtilsBean` for property query language syntax.
    `comparator` - BeanComparator will pass the values of the specified bean property to this Comparator. If your bean property is not a comparable or contains null values, a suitable comparator may be supplied in this constructor.

Method Detail

### setProperty

    public void setProperty(String property)

  Sets the method to be called to compare two JavaBeans

  Parameters:
    `property` - String method name to call to compare If the property passed in is null then the actual objects will be compared

### getProperty

    public String getProperty()

  Gets the property attribute of the BeanComparator

  Returns:
    String method name to call to compare. A null value indicates that the actual objects will be compared

### getComparator

    public Comparator getComparator()

  Gets the Comparator being used to compare beans.

  Returns:
    the Comparator being used to compare beans

### compare

    public int compare(Object o1,
                       Object o2)

  Compare two JavaBeans by their shared property. If `getProperty()` is null then the actual objects will be compared.

  Specified by:
    `compare` in interface `Comparator`
  Parameters:
    `o1` - Object The first bean to get data from to compare against
    `o2` - Object The second bean to get data from to compare
  Returns:
    int negative or positive based on order

### equals

    public boolean equals(Object o)

  Two `BeanComparator`'s are equals if and only if the wrapped comparators and the property names to be compared are equal.

  Specified by:
    `equals` in interface `Comparator`
  Overrides:
    `equals` in class `Object`
  Parameters:
    `o` - Comparator to compare to
  Returns:
    whether the the comparators are equal or not

### hashCode

    public int hashCode()

  Hashcode compatible with equals.

  Overrides:
    `hashCode` in class `Object`
  Returns:
    the hash code for this comparator

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