How do you compare two version Strings in Java?

Question

Is there a standard idiom for comparing version numbers? I can't just use a straight String compareTo because I don't know yet what the maximum number of point releases there will be. I need to compare the versions and have the following hold true:

1.0 < 1.1
1.0.1 < 1.1
1.9 < 1.10

Answer 1

My java Solution

 public int compareVersion(String version1, String version2) {

    String[] first = version1.split("\\.");
    String[] second = version2.split("\\.");

    int len = first.length<=second.length? first.length:second.length;

    // the loop runs for whichever is the short version of two strings
    for(int i=0;i<len;i++){
      int firstInt = Integer.parseInt(first[i]);
      int secondInt = Integer.parseInt(second[i]);
        if(firstInt<secondInt){
            return -1;
        }
        else if(firstInt>secondInt){
            return 1;
        }
    }

    // below two condition check if the length are the not the same

    //if first string length is short then start from after first string length and compare it with second string value. second string value is not zero that means it is greater.
    if(first.length<second.length){
        for(int i=first.length;i<second.length;i++){
            int secondInt = Integer.parseInt(second[i]);
            if(secondInt!=0){
                return -1;
            }
        }
    }
    // similar logic as above just that first length is grater this time.
     else if(first.length>second.length){
        for(int i=second.length;i<first.length;i++){
            int firstInt = Integer.parseInt(first[i]);
            if(firstInt!=0){
                return 1;
            }
        }        
    }

    // return 0 if both string value is the same
    return 0;

}

Answer 2

This code try to resolve this type of comparison versions.

Most of the version specifiers, like >= 1.0, are self-explanatory. The specifier ~> has a special meaning, best shown by example. ~> 2.0.3 is identical to >= 2.0.3 and < 2.1. ~> 2.1 is identical to >= 2.1 and < 3.0.

public static boolean apply(String cmpDeviceVersion, String reqDeviceVersion)
{
    Boolean equal           = !cmpDeviceVersion.contains(">") && !cmpDeviceVersion.contains(">=") &&
                              !cmpDeviceVersion.contains("<") && !cmpDeviceVersion.contains("<=") &&
                              !cmpDeviceVersion.contains("~>");

    Boolean between         = cmpDeviceVersion.contains("~>");
    Boolean higher          = cmpDeviceVersion.contains(">") && !cmpDeviceVersion.contains(">=") && !cmpDeviceVersion.contains("~>");
    Boolean higherOrEqual   = cmpDeviceVersion.contains(">=");

    Boolean less            = cmpDeviceVersion.contains("<") && !cmpDeviceVersion.contains("<=");
    Boolean lessOrEqual     = cmpDeviceVersion.contains("<=");

    cmpDeviceVersion        = cmpDeviceVersion.replaceAll("[<>=~]", "");
    cmpDeviceVersion        = cmpDeviceVersion.trim();

    String[] version        = cmpDeviceVersion.split("\\.");
    String[] reqVersion     = reqDeviceVersion.split("\\.");

    if(equal)
    {
        return isEqual(version, reqVersion);
    }
    else if(between)
    {
        return isBetween(version, reqVersion);
    }
    else if(higher)
    {
        return isHigher(version, reqVersion);
    }
    else if(higherOrEqual)
    {
        return isEqual(version, reqVersion) || isHigher(version, reqVersion);
    }
    else if(less)
    {
        return isLess(version, reqVersion);
    }
    else if(lessOrEqual)
    {
        return isEqual(version, reqVersion) || isLess(version, reqVersion);
    }

    return false;
}

private static boolean isEqual(String[] version, String[] reqVersion)
{
    String strVersion = StringUtils.join(version);
    String strReqVersion = StringUtils.join(reqVersion);
    if(version.length > reqVersion.length)
    {
        Integer diff = version.length - reqVersion.length;
        strReqVersion += StringUtils.repeat(".0", diff);
    }
    else if(reqVersion.length > version.length)
    {
        Integer diff = reqVersion.length - version.length;
        strVersion += StringUtils.repeat(".0", diff);
    }

    return strVersion.equals(strReqVersion);
}

private static boolean isHigher(String[] version, String[] reqVersion)
{
    String strVersion = StringUtils.join(version);
    String strReqVersion = StringUtils.join(reqVersion);
    if(version.length > reqVersion.length)
    {
        Integer diff = version.length - reqVersion.length;
        strReqVersion += StringUtils.repeat(".0", diff);
    }
    else if(reqVersion.length > version.length)
    {
        Integer diff = reqVersion.length - version.length;
        strVersion += StringUtils.repeat(".0", diff);
    }

    return strReqVersion.compareTo(strVersion) > 0;
}

private static boolean isLess(String[] version, String[] reqVersion)
{
    String strVersion = StringUtils.join(version);
    String strReqVersion = StringUtils.join(reqVersion);
    if(version.length > reqVersion.length)
    {
        Integer diff = version.length - reqVersion.length;
        strReqVersion += StringUtils.repeat(".0", diff);
    }
    else if(reqVersion.length > version.length)
    {
        Integer diff = reqVersion.length - version.length;
        strVersion += StringUtils.repeat(".0", diff);
    }

    return strReqVersion.compareTo(strVersion) < 0;
}

private static boolean isBetween(String[] version, String[] reqVersion)
{
    return (isEqual(version, reqVersion) || isHigher(version, reqVersion)) &&
            isLess(getNextVersion(version), reqVersion);
}

private static String[] getNextVersion(String[] version)
{
    String[] nextVersion = new String[version.length];
    for(int i = version.length - 1; i >= 0 ; i--)
    {
        if(i == version.length - 1)
        {
            nextVersion[i] = "0";
        }
        else if((i == version.length - 2) && NumberUtils.isNumber(version[i]))
        {
            nextVersion[i] = String.valueOf(NumberUtils.toInt(version[i]) + 1);
        }
        else
        {
            nextVersion[i] = version[i];
        }
    }
    return nextVersion;
}

Answer 3

Wondering why everybody assumes that the versions is only made up of integers - in my case it was not.

Why reinventing the wheel (assuming the version follows the Semver standard)

First install https://github.com/vdurmont/semver4j via Maven

Then use this library

Semver sem = new Semver("1.2.3");
sem.isGreaterThan("1.2.2"); // true

Answer 4

public int compare(String v1, String v2) {
        v1 = v1.replaceAll("\\s", "");
        v2 = v2.replaceAll("\\s", "");
        String[] a1 = v1.split("\\.");
        String[] a2 = v2.split("\\.");
        List<String> l1 = Arrays.asList(a1);
        List<String> l2 = Arrays.asList(a2);


        int i=0;
        while(true){
            Double d1 = null;
            Double d2 = null;

            try{
                d1 = Double.parseDouble(l1.get(i));
            }catch(IndexOutOfBoundsException e){
            }

            try{
                d2 = Double.parseDouble(l2.get(i));
            }catch(IndexOutOfBoundsException e){
            }

            if (d1 != null && d2 != null) {
                if (d1.doubleValue() > d2.doubleValue()) {
                    return 1;
                } else if (d1.doubleValue() < d2.doubleValue()) {
                    return -1;
                }
            } else if (d2 == null && d1 != null) {
                if (d1.doubleValue() > 0) {
                    return 1;
                }
            } else if (d1 == null && d2 != null) {
                if (d2.doubleValue() > 0) {
                    return -1;
                }
            } else {
                break;
            }
            i++;
        }
        return 0;
    }

Answer 5

// VersionComparator.java
import java.util.Comparator;

public class VersionComparator implements Comparator {

    public boolean equals(Object o1, Object o2) {
        return compare(o1, o2) == 0;
    }

    public int compare(Object o1, Object o2) {
        String version1 = (String) o1;
        String version2 = (String) o2;

        VersionTokenizer tokenizer1 = new VersionTokenizer(version1);
        VersionTokenizer tokenizer2 = new VersionTokenizer(version2);

        int number1 = 0, number2 = 0;
        String suffix1 = "", suffix2 = "";

        while (tokenizer1.MoveNext()) {
            if (!tokenizer2.MoveNext()) {
                do {
                    number1 = tokenizer1.getNumber();
                    suffix1 = tokenizer1.getSuffix();
                    if (number1 != 0 || suffix1.length() != 0) {
                        // Version one is longer than number two, and non-zero
                        return 1;
                    }
                }
                while (tokenizer1.MoveNext());

                // Version one is longer than version two, but zero
                return 0;
            }

            number1 = tokenizer1.getNumber();
            suffix1 = tokenizer1.getSuffix();
            number2 = tokenizer2.getNumber();
            suffix2 = tokenizer2.getSuffix();

            if (number1 < number2) {
                // Number one is less than number two
                return -1;
            }
            if (number1 > number2) {
                // Number one is greater than number two
                return 1;
            }

            boolean empty1 = suffix1.length() == 0;
            boolean empty2 = suffix2.length() == 0;

            if (empty1 && empty2) continue; // No suffixes
            if (empty1) return 1; // First suffix is empty (1.2 > 1.2b)
            if (empty2) return -1; // Second suffix is empty (1.2a < 1.2)

            // Lexical comparison of suffixes
            int result = suffix1.compareTo(suffix2);
            if (result != 0) return result;

        }
        if (tokenizer2.MoveNext()) {
            do {
                number2 = tokenizer2.getNumber();
                suffix2 = tokenizer2.getSuffix();
                if (number2 != 0 || suffix2.length() != 0) {
                    // Version one is longer than version two, and non-zero
                    return -1;
                }
            }
            while (tokenizer2.MoveNext());

            // Version two is longer than version one, but zero
            return 0;
        }
        return 0;
    }
}

// VersionTokenizer.java
public class VersionTokenizer {
    private final String _versionString;
    private final int _length;

    private int _position;
    private int _number;
    private String _suffix;
    private boolean _hasValue;

    public int getNumber() {
        return _number;
    }

    public String getSuffix() {
        return _suffix;
    }

    public boolean hasValue() {
        return _hasValue;
    }

    public VersionTokenizer(String versionString) {
        if (versionString == null)
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("versionString is null");

        _versionString = versionString;
        _length = versionString.length();
    }

    public boolean MoveNext() {
        _number = 0;
        _suffix = "";
        _hasValue = false;

        // No more characters
        if (_position >= _length)
            return false;

        _hasValue = true;

        while (_position < _length) {
            char c = _versionString.charAt(_position);
            if (c < '0' || c > '9') break;
            _number = _number * 10 + (c - '0');
            _position++;
        }

        int suffixStart = _position;

        while (_position < _length) {
            char c = _versionString.charAt(_position);
            if (c == '.') break;
            _position++;
        }

        _suffix = _versionString.substring(suffixStart, _position);

        if (_position < _length) _position++;

        return true;
    }
}

Example:

public class Main
{
    private static VersionComparator cmp;

    public static void main (String[] args)
    {
        cmp = new VersionComparator();
        Test(new String[]{"1.1.2", "1.2", "1.2.0", "1.2.1", "1.12"});
        Test(new String[]{"1.3", "1.3a", "1.3b", "1.3-SNAPSHOT"});
    }

    private static void Test(String[] versions) {
        for (int i = 0; i < versions.length; i++) {
            for (int j = i; j < versions.length; j++) {
                Test(versions[i], versions[j]);
            }
        }
    }

    private static void Test(String v1, String v2) {
        int result = cmp.compare(v1, v2);
        String op = "==";
        if (result < 0) op = "<";
        if (result > 0) op = ">";
        System.out.printf("%s %s %s\n", v1, op, v2);
    }
}

Output:

1.1.2 == 1.1.2                --->  same length and value
1.1.2 < 1.2                   --->  first number (1) less than second number (2) => -1
1.1.2 < 1.2.0                 --->  first number (1) less than second number (2) => -1
1.1.2 < 1.2.1                 --->  first number (1) less than second number (2) => -1
1.1.2 < 1.12                  --->  first number (1) less than second number (12) => -1
1.2 == 1.2                    --->  same length and value
1.2 == 1.2.0                  --->  first shorter than second, but zero
1.2 < 1.2.1                   --->  first shorter than second, and non-zero
1.2 < 1.12                    --->  first number (2) less than second number (12) => -1
1.2.0 == 1.2.0                --->  same length and value
1.2.0 < 1.2.1                 --->  first number (0) less than second number (1) => -1
1.2.0 < 1.12                  --->  first number (2) less than second number (12) => -1
1.2.1 == 1.2.1                --->  same length and value
1.2.1 < 1.12                  --->  first number (2) less than second number (12) => -1
1.12 == 1.12                  --->  same length and value

1.3 == 1.3                    --->  same length and value
1.3 > 1.3a                    --->  first suffix ('') is empty, but not second ('a') => 1
1.3 > 1.3b                    --->  first suffix ('') is empty, but not second ('b') => 1
1.3 > 1.3-SNAPSHOT            --->  first suffix ('') is empty, but not second ('-SNAPSHOT') => 1
1.3a == 1.3a                  --->  same length and value
1.3a < 1.3b                   --->  first suffix ('a') compared to second suffix ('b') => -1
1.3a < 1.3-SNAPSHOT           --->  first suffix ('a') compared to second suffix ('-SNAPSHOT') => -1
1.3b == 1.3b                  --->  same length and value
1.3b < 1.3-SNAPSHOT           --->  first suffix ('b') compared to second suffix ('-SNAPSHOT') => -1
1.3-SNAPSHOT == 1.3-SNAPSHOT  --->  same length and value

Answer 6

I liked the idea from @Peter Lawrey, And i extended it to further limits :

    /**
    * Normalize string array, 
    * Appends zeros if string from the array
    * has length smaller than the maxLen.
    **/
    private String normalize(String[] split, int maxLen){
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder("");
        for(String s : split) {
            for(int i = 0; i<maxLen-s.length(); i++) sb.append('0');
            sb.append(s);
        }
        return sb.toString();
    }

    /**
    * Removes trailing zeros of the form '.00.0...00'
    * (and does not remove zeros from, say, '4.1.100')
    **/
    public String removeTrailingZeros(String s){
        int i = s.length()-1;
        int k = s.length()-1;
        while(i >= 0 && (s.charAt(i) == '.' || s.charAt(i) == '0')){
          if(s.charAt(i) == '.') k = i-1;
          i--;  
        } 
        return s.substring(0,k+1);
    }

    /**
    * Compares two versions(works for alphabets too),
    * Returns 1 if v1 > v2, returns 0 if v1 == v2,
    * and returns -1 if v1 < v2.
    **/
    public int compareVersion(String v1, String v2) {

        // Uncomment below two lines if for you, say, 4.1.0 is equal to 4.1
        // v1 = removeTrailingZeros(v1);
        // v2 = removeTrailingZeros(v2);

        String[] splitv1 = v1.split("\\.");
        String[] splitv2 = v2.split("\\.");
        int maxLen = 0;
        for(String str : splitv1) maxLen = Math.max(maxLen, str.length());
        for(String str : splitv2) maxLen = Math.max(maxLen, str.length());
        int cmp = normalize(splitv1, maxLen).compareTo(normalize(splitv2, maxLen));
        return cmp > 0 ? 1 : (cmp < 0 ? -1 : 0);
    }

Hope it helps someone. It passed all test cases in interviewbit and leetcode (need to uncomment two lines in compareVersion function).

Easily tested !