Class does not implement Equals(object)¶
ID: cs/class-missing-equals
Kind: problem
Security severity:
Severity: error
Precision: medium
Tags:
- reliability
- maintainability
Query suites:
- csharp-security-and-quality.qls
Click to see the query in the CodeQL repository
When the class of the object on which Equals(object) is called does not define its own Equals(object) method, an Equals(object) method defined in one of its base classes will be called instead. In the worst case, the Equals(object) method of System.Object will be called, resulting in a reference equality check. This is probably not what was intended.
Classes that implement the == operator should also override the Equals(object) method, because otherwise the two forms of equality will behave differently, leading to unexpected behavior.
Recommendation¶
Implement an Equals(object) method for the highlighted class. Examine subclasses of the class highlighted to determine if they should implement their own equals method too.
Example¶
The output of this example states that “car1 does equal car2” despite the fact that one is a leaded version and one is an unleaded version. This is because the GasolineCar class is inheriting Equals(object) from Car and that method states that two Cars are equal if their make and model are the same.
using System;
class Bad
{
class Car
{
protected string make;
protected string model;
public Car(string make, string model)
{
this.make = make;
this.model = model;
}
public override bool Equals(object obj)
{
if (obj is Car c && c.GetType() == typeof(Car))
return make == c.make && model == c.model;
return false;
}
}
class GasolineCar : Car
{
protected bool unleaded;
public GasolineCar(string make, string model, bool unleaded) : base(make, model)
{
this.unleaded = unleaded;
}
}
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
var car1 = new GasolineCar("Ford", "Focus", true);
var car2 = new GasolineCar("Ford", "Focus", false);
Console.WriteLine("car1 " + (car1.Equals(car2) ? "does" : "does not") + " equal car2.");
}
}
In the revised example, GasolineCar overrides Equals(object), and the output is “car1 does not equal car2”, as expected.
using System;
class Good
{
class Car
{
protected string make;
protected string model;
public Car(string make, string model)
{
this.make = make;
this.model = model;
}
public override bool Equals(object obj)
{
if (obj is Car c && c.GetType() == typeof(Car))
return make == c.make && model == c.model;
return false;
}
}
class GasolineCar : Car
{
protected bool unleaded;
public GasolineCar(string make, string model, bool unleaded) : base(make, model)
{
this.unleaded = unleaded;
}
public override bool Equals(object obj)
{
if (obj is GasolineCar gc && gc.GetType() == typeof(GasolineCar))
return make == gc.make && model == gc.model && unleaded == gc.unleaded;
return false;
}
}
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
var car1 = new GasolineCar("Ford", "Focus", true);
var car2 = new GasolineCar("Ford", "Focus", false);
Console.WriteLine("car1 " + (car1.Equals(car2) ? "does" : "does not") + " equal car2.");
}
}