Java -> 2 lists with the same content don't match

Question

I have 2 java lists

ArrayList<String> list1 = new ArrayList<String>();
ArrayList<String> list2 = new ArrayList<String>();

I load some data from the database to the first one and from diffrent database to the second one.

The strings in the lists look exactly the same:

3441134 China Ap F
3441134 China Ap F

But when I check:

if(list1.get(1).equals(list2.get(1))){
logger.info("true");
}
else{
logger.info("false")
}

I always get

false

Can somebody say why? I checked white spaces and it's the same too.

Why don't you log `list1.get(1)` and `list2.get(1)`? You are most likely not comparing what you think you are comparing. — Jean Logeart, Apr 27 '18 at 17:25
The strings are different, try to put a breakpoint into the if and look the strings values, maybe something related to charset encoding from those different databases. — justcode, Apr 27 '18 at 17:27

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 27 '18 at 17:35

I think is something related with character encoding, you may be seeing the same string in console and debug but internally they have a extra invisible byte because of the encoding.

Try to look at: Invisible characters in Java Strings you will understand what i am saying.

Java -> 2 lists with the same content don't match

1 Answers1