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what is comparator fr?

sebastianbergmann/comparator — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-22

7,052PHPAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

tl;dr

A PHP library that checks whether two PHP values are equal, handling all value types including objects, dates, and arrays, used primarily as a dependency inside PHPUnit and other testing tools.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((comparator))
    What it does
      Value equality checks
      Type-aware comparison
      Failure exceptions
    Supported types
      Objects
      DateTime
      Arrays
      Primitives
    Tech stack
      PHP
      Composer
    Use cases
      Testing frameworks
      PHPUnit dependency
      Custom assertions

Code map

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filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Use it as a dependency to add accurate value comparison to a PHP testing framework or assertion library

VIBE 2

Compare two DateTime objects from different time zones and verify they represent the same moment in time

VIBE 3

Handle equality checks for complex PHP objects and arrays in test assertions without writing custom comparison logic

what's the stack?

PHPComposer

how it stacks up fr

sebastianbergmann/comparatorphp-fig/http-messagemongodb/laravel-mongodb
Stars7,0527,0517,079
LanguagePHPPHPPHP
Setup difficultyeasyeasymoderate
Complexity2/52/53/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · easy time til it works · 5min

in plain english

sebastianbergmann/comparator is a PHP library that provides tools for checking whether two PHP values are equal to each other. It handles the full range of PHP value types, including objects, dates, arrays, and primitive values, and is designed to determine equality in a meaningful way rather than just checking whether two things are identical references. The library is primarily used as a dependency inside testing frameworks and similar tools rather than being called directly in application code. The most common use of this library is inside PHPUnit, the widely used PHP testing framework also maintained by the same author. To install it, you add the package using Composer, which is the standard dependency manager for PHP projects. If you only need the library during development to run tests, you can install it as a development-only dependency using the --dev flag. The README includes a short code example showing how to compare two DateTime objects. You create a Factory instance, ask it for a comparator appropriate for the two values you want to compare, and then call assertEquals on that comparator. If the values are equal the comparison passes silently. If they differ, the comparator throws a ComparisonFailure exception that contains information about how the two values differ. In the example, two date objects representing the same moment in different time zones are compared, and because the underlying moment in time is the same, they are treated as equal. The library has continuous integration testing and code coverage reporting set up, indicating it is actively maintained.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
Using sebastianbergmann/comparator in PHP, write code to compare two DateTime objects in different time zones and catch the ComparisonFailure exception if they differ.
prompt 2
How do I install sebastianbergmann/comparator with Composer and use the Factory to compare two custom PHP objects for equality?
prompt 3
I'm building a PHPUnit extension. Show me how to use the comparator Factory to find the right comparator for two objects of the same class and run the comparison.

Frequently asked questions

what is comparator fr?

A PHP library that checks whether two PHP values are equal, handling all value types including objects, dates, and arrays, used primarily as a dependency inside PHPUnit and other testing tools.

What language is comparator written in?

Mainly PHP. The stack also includes PHP, Composer.

How hard is comparator to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is comparator for?

Mainly developer.

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