Why use TimeSpan.CompareTo() rather than < > or =

Question

I've been going over some Microsoft samples of code for the Kinect sensor and have stumbled across the following line.

TimeSpan zeroDuration = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.0); TimeSpan timeRemaining = ...;  if (timeRemaining.CompareTo(this.zeroDuration) > 0) { } 

I understand how CompareTo() is useful in scenarios such as sorting but why would it be used in a conditional if() instead of the more direct approach?

if (timeRemaining > this.zeroDuration) { } 

PS: I would take it with a grain of salt if it was from any other source but given the general quality of the code assume there is a reason

Answer 1

Both internally does the same thing. Compare Ticks and return result.

public int CompareTo(TimeSpan value) {     long t = value._ticks;     if (_ticks > t) return 1;     if (_ticks < t) return -1;     return 0; }   public static bool operator <(TimeSpan t1, TimeSpan t2) {             return t1._ticks < t2._ticks; } 

The only reason could be the other overload for CompareTo, which receives an object type parameter checks for null and then compare. Implemented like:

public int CompareTo(Object value) {             if (value == null) return 1;             if (!(value is TimeSpan))                 throw new ArgumentException(Environment.GetResourceString("Arg_MustBeTimeSpan"));             long t = ((TimeSpan)value)._ticks;             if (_ticks > t) return 1;             if (_ticks < t) return -1;             return 0;         } 

Source code from: Reference Source .NET Framework 4.5.1 - Microsoft