===(_:_:)

Overview

This operator tests whether two instances have the same identity, not the same value. For value equality, see the equal-to operator (==) and the Equatable protocol.

The following example defines an IntegerRef type, an integer type with reference semantics.

class IntegerRef: Equatable {
    let value: Int
    init(_ value: Int) {
        self.value = value
    }
}

func == (lhs: IntegerRef, rhs: IntegerRef) -> Bool {
    return lhs.value == rhs.value
}

Because IntegerRef is a class, its instances can be compared using the identical-to operator (===). In addition, because IntegerRef conforms to the Equatable protocol, instances can also be compared using the equal-to operator (==).

let a = IntegerRef(10)
let b = a
print(a == b)
// Prints "true"
print(a === b)
// Prints "true"

The identical-to operator (===) returns false when comparing two references to different object instances, even if the two instances have the same value.

let c = IntegerRef(10)
print(a == c)
// Prints "true"
print(a === c)
// Prints "false"