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Returns a Boolean value indicating whether two references point to the same object instance.

This operator tests whether two instances have the same identity, not the same value. For value equality, see the equal-to operator (==) and the Equatable protocol.

The following example defines an IntegerRef type, an integer type with reference semantics.

class IntegerRef: Equatable {
    let value: Int
    init(_ value: Int) {
        self.value = value
    }
}
 
func ==(lhs: IntegerRef, rhs: IntegerRef) -> Bool {
    return lhs.value == rhs.value
}

Because IntegerRef is a class, its instances can be compared using the identical-to operator (===). In addition, because IntegerRef conforms to the Equatable protocol, instances can also be compared using the equal-to operator (==).

let a = IntegerRef(10)
let b = a
print(a == b)
// Prints "true"
print(a === b)
// Prints "true"

The identical-to operator (===) returns false when comparing two references to different object instances, even if the two instances have the same value.

let c = IntegerRef(10)
print(a == c)
// Prints "true"
print(a === c)
// Prints "false"

Parameters: lhs: A reference to compare. rhs: Another reference to compare.

See Also: Equatable, ==, !==

Declaration