How can I perform string comparison in Java?

To compare strings in Java, you can use the equals() method or the compareTo() method. Here's how you can use each method:

1. equals() method:

The equals() method compares the content of two strings to check if they are equal. It returns a boolean value indicating whether the strings are the same or not.

Example:

String str1 = "Hello";
String str2 = "World";
boolean isEqual = str1.equals(str2);

if (isEqual) {
    System.out.println("The strings are equal.");
} else {
    System.out.println("The strings are not equal.");
}

2. compareTo() method:

The compareTo() method compares two strings lexicographically. It returns an integer value based on the comparison. If the strings are equal, it returns 0. If the first string is lexicographically greater than the second string, it returns a positive value. If the first string is lexicographically smaller, it returns a negative value.

Example:

String str1 = "Apple";
String str2 = "Banana";
int result = str1.compareTo(str2);

if (result == 0) {
    System.out.println("The strings are equal.");
} else if (result < 0) {
    System.out.println("The first string is lexicographically smaller.");
} else {
    System.out.println("The first string is lexicographically greater.");
}

Note that both methods are case-sensitive, so "Hello" and "hello" would be considered different strings. If you want to perform a case-insensitive comparison, you can use the equalsIgnoreCase() method instead of equals().