generator-equals

name	generator.equals
description	Guidance for using Generator.Equals — a C# source generator for auto-generating Equals, GetHashCode, operators, and Diff/Inequalities methods via attributes.
packages	Generator.Equals

Generator.Equals

C# source generator that auto-implements IEquatable<T>, Equals(), GetHashCode(), ==/!= operators, and an Inequalities() diff method at compile time using attributes. No runtime reflection.

Setup

Add both packages:

<PackageReference Include="Generator.Equals" PrivateAssets="all" />
<PackageReference Include="Generator.Equals.Runtime" />

Requires C# 9.0+. The type must be partial.

Attributes Quick Reference

Type-level

Attribute	Purpose
[Equatable]	Generates equality members for the type
[Equatable(Explicit = true)]	Only compare properties with explicit equality attributes
[Equatable(IgnoreInheritedMembers = true)]	Skip base class members entirely

Property/Field-level

Attribute	Use When
[DefaultEquality]	Default comparer. Required on fields (fields are excluded by default).
[IgnoreEquality]	Skip this member
[OrderedEquality]	Compare collection elements in order (like SequenceEqual)
[UnorderedEquality]	Compare collection elements ignoring order
[SetEquality]	Compare as sets (duplicates ignored)
[ReferenceEquality]	Compare by reference only
[StringEquality(StringComparison.X)]	String-specific comparison (string props only)
[PrecisionEquality(0.001)]	Tolerance-based numeric comparison
[CustomEquality(typeof(MyComparer))]	Custom IEqualityComparer<T>

Comparer constructor patterns (for collection and custom attributes)

[OrderedEquality]                                                          // Default comparer
[OrderedEquality(typeof(MyComparer))]                                     // Type with static Default member
[OrderedEquality(typeof(StringComparer), nameof(StringComparer.Ordinal))] // Named static member
[OrderedEquality(StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)]                     // StringComparison shorthand

Best Practices

Always annotate collection properties

// WRONG - produces diagnostic GE001
public List<int> Items { get; set; }

// RIGHT
[OrderedEquality]
public List<int> Items { get; set; }

Use Explicit mode when only a few properties matter

[Equatable(Explicit = true)]
partial class User
{
    [DefaultEquality] public string Id { get; set; }     // Compared
    public string DisplayName { get; set; }               // Ignored
    public DateTime LastLogin { get; set; }               // Ignored
}

Mark fields explicitly

Fields are not included by default. You must annotate them:

[DefaultEquality]
private int _version;

Use the generated EqualityComparer

Every [Equatable] type gets a nested EqualityComparer class:

// Use in dictionaries, HashSets, LINQ
var dict = new Dictionary<MyType, string>(MyType.EqualityComparer.Default);
var distinct = items.Distinct(MyType.EqualityComparer.Default);

Use Inequalities for diff/audit

foreach (var diff in MyType.EqualityComparer.Default.Inequalities(oldObj, newObj))
    Console.WriteLine(diff);
// Output: Name: John -> Jane
// Output: Addresses["home"].Street: 123 Main St -> 456 Oak Ave

Nested [Equatable] objects in collections are auto-drilled — you get per-field diffs, not "entire object changed".

Common Pitfalls

1. Non-partial type (GE006) — The type MUST be declared partial.

2. Manual Equals/GetHashCode (GE005) — Do NOT override Equals() or GetHashCode() manually on an [Equatable] type. The generator owns these.

3. Conflicting collection attributes (GE007) — Only ONE of [OrderedEquality], [UnorderedEquality], [SetEquality] per property.

4. Hash code instability — [UnorderedEquality], [SetEquality], and [PrecisionEquality] return hash code 0 or exclude from hashing. Types using these are poor dictionary keys.

5. Inheritance with [Equatable] — The generator walks the full inheritance chain. If any ancestor has [Equatable] or overrides Equals(), it calls base.Equals(). Use IgnoreInheritedMembers = true to opt out.

6. Overriding properties inherits attributes — A Child overriding a Parent's [OrderedEquality] virtual int[] Values automatically inherits [OrderedEquality]. Do NOT re-annotate unless you want to change behavior.

7. [StringEquality] on non-string (GE008) — Only valid on string properties.

8. [PrecisionEquality] types (GE010) — Only float, double, decimal, int, long, short, sbyte and their nullable variants.

Examples

Basic class

[Equatable]
partial class Person
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }

    [IgnoreEquality]
    public DateTime LastUpdated { get; set; }
}

Record with collections

[Equatable]
partial record Customer(
    string Id,
    string Name,
    [property: OrderedEquality] ImmutableArray<Address> Addresses,
    [property: UnorderedEquality] ImmutableDictionary<string, string> Tags
);

Struct with custom comparer

[Equatable]
partial struct Coordinate
{
    [PrecisionEquality(0.0001)]
    public double Latitude { get; set; }

    [PrecisionEquality(0.0001)]
    public double Longitude { get; set; }
}

Inheritance

[Equatable]
partial class Animal
{
    public string Species { get; set; }
}

[Equatable]
partial class Pet : Animal
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    // Species is also compared via base.Equals()
}

Diff / Inequalities

var diffs = Customer.EqualityComparer.Default.Inequalities(before, after);
foreach (var d in diffs)
{
    // d.Path  — e.g., "Addresses[0].Street"
    // d.Left  — old value
    // d.Right — new value
    Console.WriteLine(d);
}

Diagnostics

Code	Description
GE001	Collection missing equality attribute
GE002	Complex property missing [Equatable]
GE003	Collection element missing [Equatable]
GE005	Manual Equals/GetHashCode with [Equatable]
GE006	[Equatable] on non-partial type
GE007	Conflicting equality attributes
GE008	[StringEquality] on non-string
GE009	Collection attribute on non-collection
GE010	[PrecisionEquality] on unsupported type

All diagnostics have automatic code fixes.