swift - How to compare "Any" value types

Question

I have several "Any" value types that I want to compare.

var any1: Any = 1
var any2: Any = 1

var any3: Any = "test"
var any4: Any = "test"

print(any1 == any2)
print(any2 == any3)
print(any3 == any4)

Using the == operator shows an error:

"Binary operator '==' cannot be applied to two 'Any' (aka 'protocol<>') operands"

What would be the way to do this ?

Answer 1

The only way to do this is with a function other than == that takes a type parameter, and then compares the values if they are both of that type:

func isEqual<T: Equatable>(type: T.Type, a: Any, b: Any) -> Bool {
    guard let a = a as? T, let b = b as? T else { return false }

    return a == b
}

Now, using your variables above, you can compare them like this:

var any1: Any = 1
var any2: Any = 1

var any3: Any = "test"
var any4: Any = "test"

isEqual(type: Int.self, a: any1, b: any2)      // true
isEqual(type: Int.self, a: any2, b: any3)      // false
isEqual(type: String.self, a: any3, b: any4)   // true