std::memcmp

int memcmp( const void* lhs, const void* rhs, std::size_t count );

Reinterprets the objects pointed to by lhs and rhs as arrays of unsigned char and compares the first count characters of these arrays. The comparison is done lexicographically.

The sign of the result is the sign of the difference between the values of the first pair of bytes (both interpreted as unsigned char) that differ in the objects being compared.

Parameters

Return value

Negative value if the first differing byte (reinterpreted as unsigned char) in lhs is less than the corresponding byte in rhs.

​0​ if all count bytes of lhs and rhs are equal.

Positive value if the first differing byte in lhs is greater than the corresponding byte in rhs.

Notes

This function reads object representations, not the object values, and is typically meaningful for trivially-copyable objects only. For example, memcmp() between two objects of type std::string or std::vector will not compare their contents. Even for POD types, if there are any padding bytes, their contents are indeterminate and may be surprising.

Example

#include <iostream>
#include <cstring>
 
void demo(const char* lhs, const char* rhs, size_t sz)
{
    std::cout << std::string(lhs, sz);
    int rc = std::memcmp(lhs, rhs, sz);
    if(rc == 0)
        std::cout << " compares equal to ";
    else if(rc < 0)
        std::cout << " precedes ";
    else if(rc > 0)
        std::cout << " follows ";
    std::cout << std::string(rhs, sz) << " in lexicographical order\n";
}
 
int main()
{
    char a1[] = {'a','b','c'};
    char a2[sizeof a1] = {'a','b','d'};
 
    demo(a1, a2, sizeof a1);
    demo(a2, a1, sizeof a1);
    demo(a1, a1, sizeof a1);
}

abc precedes abd in lexicographical order
abd follows abc in lexicographical order
abc compares equal to abc in lexicographical order

See also