ncompare NUMBER NUMBER

Summary

Compare two numbers numerically using Java’s Double.compare() method, returning -1, 0, or 1.

Syntax

${ncompare;<number1>;<number2>}

Parameters

• number1: First number to compare (can be integer or floating-point)
• number2: Second number to compare (can be integer or floating-point)

Behavior

Compares the two numbers numerically and returns:

• 0 - The numbers are equal
• 1 - The first number is greater than the second
• -1 - The first number is less than the second

Numbers are parsed as doubles, supporting both integers and floating-point values.

Examples

# Equal numbers
${ncompare;42;42}
# Returns: 0

# First number greater
${ncompare;100;50}
# Returns: 1

# First number less
${ncompare;10;20}
# Returns: -1

# Floating-point comparison
${ncompare;3.14;2.71}
# Returns: 1

# Negative numbers
${ncompare;-5;-10}
# Returns: 1 (-5 is greater than -10)

# Use in conditional logic
-include ${if;${ncompare;${Bundle-Version};2.0};modern.bnd;legacy.bnd}

# Compare with zero
${ncompare;${errorcount};0}
# Returns: 1 if errors exist, 0 if no errors

# Numeric comparison (not lexicographic)
${ncompare;10;2}
# Returns: 1 (10 is greater than 2 numerically)

# Compare with macro values
${ncompare;${size;${errors}};5}
# Check if more than 5 errors

Use Cases

1. Threshold Checks: Verify if a value exceeds a threshold
2. Conditional Builds: Make decisions based on numeric values
3. Validation: Check if counts, sizes, or versions meet requirements
4. Quality Gates: Ensure numeric metrics are within acceptable ranges
5. Build Optimization: Skip steps based on numeric conditions

Notes

• Comparison is numeric, not lexicographic
• For string comparison, use compare
• For OSGi version comparison, use vcompare
• Both arguments are parsed as double-precision floating-point numbers
• Returns only -1, 0, or 1
• Handles integers, decimals, and negative numbers
• Useful with if macro for conditional logic

Related Macros

• compare - Compare strings lexicographically
• vcompare - Compare OSGi version strings
• if - Conditional macro that can use comparison results
• size - Get list size for numeric comparisons

See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java