operator==,!=,<,<=,>,>=,<=>(std::array)

From cppreference.com
< cpp‎ | container‎ | array

Defined in header <array>
(1)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

bool operator==( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                 const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(until C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

constexpr bool operator==( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                           const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(since C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

bool operator!=( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                 const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(2) (until C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

bool operator<( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(3) (until C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

bool operator<=( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                 const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(4) (until C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

bool operator>( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(5) (until C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

bool operator>=( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                 const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(6) (until C++20)
template< class T, std::size_t N >

constexpr /* see below */ operator<=>( const std::array<T,N>& lhs,

                                       const std::array<T,N>& rhs );
(7) (since C++20)

Compares the contents of two arrays.

1-2) Checks if the contents of lhs and rhs are equal, that is, they have the same number of elements and each element in lhs compares equal with the element in rhs at the same position.
3-6) Compares the contents of lhs and rhs lexicographically. The comparison is performed by a function equivalent to std::lexicographical_compare.
7) Compares the contents of lhs and rhs lexicographically. The comparison is performed as if by calling std::lexicographical_compare_three_way on two arrays with a function object performing synthesized three-way comparison (see below). The return type is same as the result type of synthesized three-way comparison.

Given two const E lvalues lhs and rhs as left hand operand and right hand operand respectively (where E is T), synthesized three-way comparison is defined as:

lhs < rhs ? std::weak_ordering::less :
rhs < lhs ? std::weak_ordering::greater :
            std::weak_ordering::equivalent
  • otherwise, synthesized three-way comparison is not defined, and operator<=> does not participate in overload resolution.
The behavior of operator<=> is undefined if three_way_comparable_with or boolean-testable is satisfied but not modeled, or operator< is used but E and < do not establish a total order.

The <, <=, >, >=, and != operators are synthesized from operator<=> and operator== respectively.

(since C++20)

Parameters

lhs, rhs - arrays whose contents to compare
-
T must meet the requirements of EqualityComparable in order to use overloads (1-2).
-
T must meet the requirements of LessThanComparable in order to use overloads (3-6). The ordering relation must establish total order.

Return value

1) true if the contents of the arrays are equal, false otherwise
2) true if the contents of the arrays are not equal, false otherwise
3) true if the contents of the lhs are lexicographically less than the contents of rhs, false otherwise
4) true if the contents of the lhs are lexicographically less than or equal to the contents of rhs, false otherwise
5) true if the contents of the lhs are lexicographically greater than the contents of rhs, false otherwise
6) true if the contents of the lhs are lexicographically greater than or equal to the contents of rhs, false otherwise
7) The relative order of the first pair of non-equivalent elements in lhs and rhs if there are such elements, lhs.size() <=> rhs.size() otherwise.

Complexity

Linear in the size of the array

Example

#include <iostream>
#include <array>
 
int main()
{
    std::array<int, 3> alice{1, 2, 3};
    std::array<int, 3> bob{7, 8, 9};
    std::array<int, 3> eve{1, 2, 3};
 
    std::cout << std::boolalpha;
 
    // Compare non equal containers
    std::cout << "alice == bob returns " << (alice == bob) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice != bob returns " << (alice != bob) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice <  bob returns " << (alice < bob) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice <= bob returns " << (alice <= bob) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice >  bob returns " << (alice > bob) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice >= bob returns " << (alice >= bob) << '\n';
 
    std::cout << '\n';
 
    // Compare equal containers
    std::cout << "alice == eve returns " << (alice == eve) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice != eve returns " << (alice != eve) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice <  eve returns " << (alice < eve) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice <= eve returns " << (alice <= eve) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice >  eve returns " << (alice > eve) << '\n';
    std::cout << "alice >= eve returns " << (alice >= eve) << '\n';
}

Output:

alice == bob returns false
alice != bob returns true
alice <  bob returns true
alice <= bob returns true
alice >  bob returns false
alice >= bob returns false
 
alice == eve returns true
alice != eve returns false
alice <  eve returns false
alice <= eve returns true
alice >  eve returns false
alice >= eve returns true