.. _compare:

=======
compare
======= 

Compares two strings

Description
~~~~~~~~~~~
The fn:compare function returns one of the values:

    -1 if $comparand1 is less than $comparand2

    0 if $comparand1 is equal to $comparand2

    1 if $comparand1 is greater than $comparand2

A comparand is greater than the other comparand if it starts with the other 
comparand and has additional characters. For example, abc is greater than ab. 

Comparison operators (=, !=, <, <=, >, >=) can also be used to compare strings, 
and you may find the syntax more convenient. However, if you need to use a 
specific collation other than the default, you must use the fn:compare function.

.. list-table::
   :widths: 40 60
   :header-rows: 1

   * - **Parameters**
     - **Description**
   * - comparand1:string()
     - the first string to compare
   * - comparand2:string()
     - the second string to compare
   * - collation:string()
     - the collation to use for sorting

Examples
~~~~~~~~
.. list-table::
   :widths: 50 50
   :header-rows: 1

   * - **XPath**
     - **Results**
   * - 
     - 

See Also
~~~~~~~~

.. toctree::
   :titlesonly:
   :glob:

* :ref:`codepoint-equal`.