What is the difference between == and

In C#, the == operator is used to compare two operands for equality, while the Object.Equals() method is used to determine whether two object references refer to the same instance or whether their values are equivalent. The == operator can be overloaded by the types being compared, whereas Equals() is a method that has a defined behavior for reference types.

For example, when comparing value types, == typically checks for value equality, while for reference types it checks for reference equality unless overridden.

Here’s a simple comparison between using == and Equals():

// Example code in C# int a = 5; int b = 5; // Using == if (a == b) { Console.WriteLine("a is equal to b using == operator."); } // Using Equals if (a.Equals(b)) { Console.WriteLine("a is equal to b using Equals method."); } // For reference types string str1 = "hello"; string str2 = new string(new char[] { 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o' }); // Using == if (str1 == str2) { Console.WriteLine("str1 is equal to str2 using == operator."); } // Using Equals if (str1.Equals(str2)) { Console.WriteLine("str1 is equal to str2 using Equals method."); }

C# == operator Equals method comparison value types reference types