How Can I Efficiently Determine Equality for Complex Objects in C#?

Efficient and complex objects in C#

When comparing complex objects, it is crucial to choose efficient methods. In C# 4.0 and above, the best approach is to utilize the IEquatable<T> interface, ensuring fast comparison.

Implement IEquatable for custom types

Implement the IEquatable<T> interface for all custom types participating in the comparison. In a containing type, call the containing type's Equals method. If the contained element is a collection, the SequenceEqual extension method is used, which internally calls Equals for each element.

Equals method of value types and reference types

For value types, call the Equals method directly. Properties or fields have default values ​​even if they are not assigned a value. For reference types, first check for reference equality using ReferenceEquals. If the check fails, the null reference is checked and the Equals method is called. This ensures optimized comparisons.

Example implementation

public class Person : IEquatable<Person>
{
    // ...
    public bool Equals(Person other)
    {
        // ...
    }
}

public class Address : IEquatable<Address>
{
    // ...
    public bool Equals(Address other)
    {
        // ...
    }
}

public class City : IEquatable<City>
{
    // ...
    public bool Equals(City other)
    {
        // ...
    }
}

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