net.sf.saxon.sort
public interface AtomicComparer extends Serializable
Method Summary | |
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int | compareAtomicValues(AtomicValue a, AtomicValue b)
Compare two AtomicValue objects according to the rules for their data type. |
boolean | comparesEqual(AtomicValue a, AtomicValue b)
Compare two AtomicValue objects for equality according to the rules for their data type. |
ComparisonKey | getComparisonKey(AtomicValue a)
Get a comparison key for an object. |
AtomicComparer | provideContext(XPathContext context)
Supply the dynamic context in case this is needed for the comparison |
Parameters: a the first object to be compared. It is intended that this should be an instance of AtomicValue, though this restriction is not enforced. If it is a StringValue, the collator is used to compare the values, otherwise the value must implement the java.util.Comparable interface. b the second object to be compared. This must be comparable with the first object: for example, if one is a string, they must both be strings.
Returns: <0 if a0 if a>b
Throws: ClassCastException if the objects are not comparable NoDynamicContextException if this comparer required access to dynamic context information, notably the implicit timezone, and this information is not available. In general this happens if a context-dependent comparison is attempted at compile-time, and it signals the compiler to generate code that tries again at run-time.
Parameters: a the first object to be compared. b the second object to be compared.
Returns: true if the values are equal, false if not
Throws: ClassCastException if the objects are not comparable
Parameters: context the dynamic evaluation context
Returns: either the original AtomicComparer, or a new AtomicComparer in which the context is known. The original AtomicComparer is not modified