areContentsTheSame

areContentsTheSame is a boolean function commonly found in programming libraries and frameworks, particularly those dealing with data structures or collections. Its primary purpose is to determine if two given collections, such as arrays, lists, or sets, contain the exact same elements. The comparison is typically order-independent, meaning the sequence in which elements appear within the collections does not affect the outcome. For instance, if one list is [1, 2, 3] and another is [3, 1, 2], areContentsTheSame would return true, assuming the elements themselves are considered equal.

The implementation of areContentsTheSame often involves several steps. First, it usually checks if the sizes or lengths of the two collections are identical. If they are not, the contents cannot be the same, and the function returns false immediately. If the sizes match, the function then proceeds to compare the individual elements. This comparison can be done in various ways. A common approach is to iterate through one collection and check for the presence of each element in the other collection. To handle potential duplicate elements correctly, the function might use frequency counts or mark elements as "checked" as they are matched. The exact algorithm can depend on the specific data types being compared and the desired performance characteristics. Libraries might offer variations of this function, such as those that are order-dependent or allow for custom comparison logic.