Difference between Comparator and Comparable Interfaces

Difference between Comparator and Comparable

Comparator	Comparable
It is available in java.util package.	It is available in java.lang package.
We need to override compare() method.	We need to override compareTo() method.
It takes two arguments as parameters. public int compare(Object obj1,Object obj2 )	It takes only one argument as a parameter. public int compareTo(Object obj)
Its primary use is where we need to write the comparing logic outside the class which has to be compared.	It is used when we need to compare the instance of an object with a given object. Comparing logic is inside the class that needs to be compared.
this reference is not made while comparing objects	this reference is used to compare the object.
It is used for comparing objects based on any logic.	It is mostly used for comparing objects based on the natural ordering.

Points To Remember

• Both compareTo() and compare() methods return int value.
• Both compareTo() and compare() methods return either a negative integer, 0 or a positive integer.
• Both Comparator and Comparable are interfaces.