C++ Program to Compare Paths of Two Files

As we are given two paths of two files, we have to compare these two paths and check whether they are equal or greater or smaller using a C++ program.

Input:

path1 = "/a/b/c" , path2 = "/a/b/"

Output:

path1 is greater than path2

Approaches:

Using built-in compare function :

1. To store paths use string as data type 
2. Use pathname1. Compare( pathname2 ), to compare two paths , this will return three values  greater that 0 , less than 0 or equal to 0 

Example:

/a/b/c is greater than /a/b/
/a/b is equal to /a/b
/a/b is less than /a/b.

Using iteration(for & while loop) :

1. To store paths use string as data type
2. Use for or while loop and compare each character of them one by one.

Syntax:

while(path1[i] != '\0' || path2[i] != '\0'){
 //compare the character
 //increment value of i
}

OR

for(int i = 0; path1[i] != '\0' || path2[i] != '\0'; i++){
 //compare the character
}

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

/a/b/c is not equal to /a/b/
/a/b is equal to /a/b
/a/b is not equal to /a/b.

Using Comparison operators:

1. To store paths use string as data type
2. Use comparison operators (<, >, ==) to compare two paths.

syntax:

if(path1 > path2)
 // path1 is greater
else if(path1 < path2)
 // path2 is greater
else
 // both paths are same

Example:

/a/b/c is greater than /a/b/
/a/b is equal to /a/b
/a/b is less than /a/b.

Time Complexity: O(1)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)