Comparing 2 lists using Linq

Question

I have 2 lists I am trying to compare. I execute the following and I get a false value returned:

var areIdentical = list1.SequenceEqual(list2, myFileCompare);

That part is working. My lists are NOT equal. The problem is, I'm using the following command to try to find the differences:

var fileDiff = (from file in list1 
                select file).Except(list2, myFileCompare);

My problem is, fileDiff is returning an empty result set. Since I know they are NOT identical, shouldn't I get something returned? Perhaps my query is wrong on this. Any help would be appreciated! By the way, I can post more of my code, if you really need it, however, this should suffice.

Answer 1

You wouldn't get anything if:

• list2 contained everything in list1 but also extra items
• the ordering was different

Assuming you don't care about the ordering, you can use:

var extraItemsInList2 = list2.Except(list1);
var extraItemsInList1 = list1.Except(list2);

If you do care about the order, you'll need to work out exactly how you want the differences to be represented.