Equals and Equalsignorecase Example in Java

Introduction

Equals and equalsIgnoreCase is a classic Java console program that demonstrates the concept with complete source code and sample output. Strings are immutable objects in Java; the examples show comparison, searching and transformation.

This tutorial walks through the program line by line, explains how the logic works, and highlights best practices you can apply in your own code.

Definition

One of the String comparison methods is ‘.equals’ method. This method is case-sensitive and returns true only when both the strings that are compared are equal in case. ‘equalsIgnoreCase’ method is case-insensitive. This method returns true if both the strings that are compared are equal irrespective of the case.

Syntax

val1.equals(val2)
val1.equalsIgnoreCase(val2)

Equals and equalsIgnoreCase Example Program

class StringComparison{
	public static void main(String[] args){
		String str1 = "Java";
		String str2 = "JAVA";
		System.out.println("Comparing strings : "+str1 + " and "+str2);
		System.out.println(str1 + " equals "+str2+" : "+str1.equals(str2));
		System.out.println(str1 + " equalsIgnoreCase "+str2+" : "+str1.equalsIgnoreCase(str2));
	}
}

Sample Output

Comparing strings : Java and JAVA
Java equals JAVA : false
Java equalsIgnoreCase JAVA : true

When to use

Use string manipulation when cleaning user input, parsing text files or formatting messages.

How it works

1. Execution begins in the main method — the JVM calls this method when you run the class.

2. String str1 = "Java"; updates a variable used in the calculation or output.

3. String str2 = "JAVA"; updates a variable used in the calculation or output.

4. A println / print call writes text to the console — part of the sample output below.

5. A println / print call writes text to the console — part of the sample output below.

6. A println / print call writes text to the console — part of the sample output below.

7. Compare your console output with the sample output for Equals and equalsIgnoreCase to confirm the program behaves correctly.

Best Practices

• Use meaningful variable and class names that describe their purpose.
• Compile and run the program locally — modify values to see how output changes.
• Read compiler errors carefully; they usually point to the exact line to fix.

Common Mistakes

• Copying code without understanding each line — practice by changing one statement at a time.
• Mismatching the public class name and the .java filename.
• Forgetting semicolons at the end of statements.