Can you use == to compare objects in Java?

The compareTo method defines the natural order; the default way for ordering objects of a class. It should return a negative integer(usually -1), if the current triggering object is less than the passed one, and positive integer (usually +1) if greater than, and 0 if equal.

The compareTo method compares the current object with the object sent as a parameter . When implementing it, we need to make sure that the method returns: A positive integer, if the current object is greater than the parameter object. A negative integer, if the current object is less than the parameter object.

In Java, the == operator compares that two references are identical or not . Whereas the equals() method compares two objects. Objects are equal when they have the same state (usually comparing variables). Objects are identical when they share the class identity.