Question

I have a List (Foo) and I want to see if it’s equal to another List (foo). What is the fastest way ?

Answer 1

Here are the steps I would do:

1. Do an object.ReferenceEquals() if true, then return true.
2. Check the count, if not the same, return false.
3. Compare the elements one by one.

Here are some suggestions for the method:

1. Base the implementation on ICollection. This gives you the count, but doesn’t restrict to specific collection type or contained type.
2. You can implement the method as an extension method to ICollection.
3. You will need to use the .Equals() for comparing the elements of the list.