net.sf.saxon.sort

Class NumericComparer

public class NumericComparer extends Object implements Comparator, Serializable

A Comparer used for comparing sort keys when data-type="number". The items to be compared are converted to numbers, and the numbers are then compared directly.

This class is used in XSLT only, so there is no need to handle XQuery's "empty least" vs "empty greatest" options.

Author: Michael H. Kay

Constructor Summary
NumericComparer()
Method Summary
intcompare(Object a, Object b)
Compare two Items by converting them to numbers and comparing the numeric values.

Constructor Detail

NumericComparer

public NumericComparer()

Method Detail

compare

public int compare(Object a, Object b)
Compare two Items by converting them to numbers and comparing the numeric values. If either value cannot be converted to a number, it is treated as NaN, and compares less that the other (two NaN values compare equal).

Parameters: a the first Item to be compared. b the second Item to be compared.

Returns: <0 if a0 if a>b

Throws: ClassCastException if the objects are not Items