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         


        

Answer 1

You can do it like this by using AnyHashable:

func equals(_ x : Any, _ y : Any) -> Bool {
    guard x is AnyHashable else { return false }
    guard y is AnyHashable else { return false }
    return (x as! AnyHashable) == (y as! AnyHashable)
}

print("\(equals(3, 4))")        // false
print("\(equals(3, equals))")   // false
print("\(equals(3, 3))")        // true

As not every Equatable has to be Hashable, this might fail under rare circumstances.

Usually there is no reason for using above hack; but sometimes you will need it, just as sometimes AnyHashable is needed.