What are best practices for working with Comparable vs Comparator?

When working with sorting in Java, choosing between Comparable and Comparator is essential to achieve clean and efficient code. Here are some best practices:

• Use Comparable for Natural Ordering: If you have a single natural order for your class, implement Comparable. This is more intuitive and allows objects to be compared directly.
• Use Comparator for Custom Sorting: If you need multiple ways to sort objects, create one or more Comparators. This keeps your classes clean and allows for separation of different sorting strategies.
• Decouple Comparison Logic: By using Comparators, you can keep the comparison logic separate from your business logic. This is especially useful in larger applications.
• Use Lambda Expressions for Simplicity: With Java 8 and later, you can leverage lambda expressions to implement Comparators in a more concise and readable way.
• Be Consistent: Ensure your comparison logic is consistent; if x.compareTo(y) > 0, then y.compareTo(x) should be < 0. This helps maintain the contract of the comparison.