ComparableHelper Class

Definition

Namespace

Bodu.Extensions

Assembly

Bodu.Core.dll

Package

Bodu.Core 1.0.1

Source

ComparableHelper.Coalesce.cs

Provides null-tolerant ordering helpers - Min, Max, and Coalesce - for pairs of operands. Min and Max require IComparable<T> operands (reference types may be null); Coalesce is unconstrained and additionally accepts Nullable<T> value types.

public static class ComparableHelper

Inheritance

object

ComparableHelper

Inherited Members

object.Equals(object)

object.Equals(object, object)

object.GetHashCode()

object.GetType()

object.MemberwiseClone()

object.ReferenceEquals(object, object)

object.ToString()

Examples

string? a = "alpha";
string? b = null;

string? larger  = ComparableHelper.Max(a, b);       // "alpha"
string? smaller = ComparableHelper.Min(a, b);       // "alpha" (null is skipped)
string? either  = ComparableHelper.Coalesce(b, a);  // "alpha"

// Coalesce alone is unconstrained, so it also accepts nullable value types.
int? first = ComparableHelper.Coalesce((int?)null, 5); // 5

// Custom comparer for case-insensitive string ordering.
string? winner = ComparableHelper.Max("alpha", "Beta", StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase); // "Beta"

Remarks

The helpers are designed for the common case in which one or both operands may be null and the caller wants the non-null value to win rather than to throw. Coalesce returns the first non-null operand and is equivalent to the null-coalescing operator over reference and nullable value types. Min and Max return the smaller or larger operand respectively; when one operand is null the other is returned unchanged, and when both are null the result is null.

Each method accepts an optional IComparer<T> override; when omitted, Default is used. Because the ordering call only occurs when both operands are non-null, callers can supply comparers that throw on null input without guarding separately.

These helpers complement ComparableExtensions, which provides instance-style comparison predicates ( IsBetween, IsGreaterThan, and so on). ComparableHelper is the static surface for combining two operands; ComparableExtensions is the surface for testing a single operand against bounds.

Methods

Coalesce<T>(T?, T?)

Returns the first non-null value from two specified values.

public static T? Coalesce<T>(T? first, T? second)

Parameters

first T

The first value to return if not null.

second T

The second value to return if the first is null.

Returns

T

The first non-null value, or null if both values are null.

Type Parameters

T

The type of the values.

Max<T>(T?, T?)

Returns the larger of two specified values.

public static T? Max<T>(T? first, T? second) where T : IComparable<T>

Parameters

first T

The first value to compare.

second T

The second value to compare.

Returns

T

The larger of the two values. If one value is null, the non-null value is returned. If both values are null, null is returned.

Type Parameters

T

The type of the values to compare, which must implement IComparable<T>.

Remarks

This method compares the two values using the CompareTo(T) method.

Max<T>(T?, T?, IComparer<T>)

Returns the larger of two specified values using a custom IComparer<T>.

public static T? Max<T>(T? first, T? second, IComparer<T> comparer)

Parameters

first T

The first value to compare.

second T

The second value to compare.

comparer IComparer<T>

The comparer to use for comparing the values.

Returns

T

The larger of the two values based on the specified comparer. If one value is null, the non-null value is returned. If both values are null, null is returned.

Type Parameters

T

The type of the values to compare.

Remarks

Use this overload to apply custom comparison logic, such as ordinal or case-insensitive string comparisons.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

Thrown when comparer is null.

Min<T>(T?, T?)

Returns the smaller of two specified values.

public static T? Min<T>(T? first, T? second) where T : IComparable<T>

Parameters

first T

The first value to compare.

second T

The second value to compare.

Returns

T

The smaller of the two values. If one value is null, the non-null value is returned. If both values are null, null is returned.

Type Parameters

T

The type of the values to compare, which must implement IComparable<T>.

Remarks

This method compares the two values using the CompareTo(T) method.

Min<T>(T?, T?, IComparer<T>)

Returns the smaller of two specified values using a custom IComparer<T>.

public static T? Min<T>(T? first, T? second, IComparer<T> comparer)

Parameters

first T

The first value to compare.

second T

The second value to compare.

comparer IComparer<T>

The comparer to use for comparing the values.

Returns

T

The smaller of the two values based on the specified comparer. If one value is null, the non-null value is returned. If both values are null, null is returned.

Type Parameters

T

The type of the values to compare.

Remarks

Use this overload to apply custom comparison logic, such as culture-specific string comparisons.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

Thrown when comparer is null.

Applies to

Product	Versions
.NET	8, 10