String.Equals(s1, s2) VS s1==s2 VS s1.Equals(s2)

[travisowens]

I read the most interesting benchmark about the speed of string comparisons. It seems there is a HUGE different between the 3 different methods of string comparison. I've also included my summary/notes. I was shocked to find s1.Equals(s2) to be so inefficent in comparison.

 

Source: http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/chris.taylor/archive/2004/05/18/13927.aspx

Google Cached Copy: http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/chris.taylor/archive/2004/05/18/13927.aspx

 

using

if (String.Equals("target", "source"))

is 5x faster than using C#'s classic

if (myString == "value")

and it's 30x faster than VB.Net's

if (myString = "value")

 

Please note that

myString.Equals("value")

is extremely inefficient, almost as slow as VB.Net's = comparison, because it does a null check on myString

 

Of course let's interject a reality check here and 99% of the time you won't get any benefit by choosing one method over another. Only in extreme looping situations will it make a difference.