int - Java Compare 2 integers with equals or ==?

Question

i am very very new to Java and i would like to know how can i compare 2 integers? I know == gets the job done.. but what about equals? Can this compare 2 integers? (when i say integers i mean "int" not "Integer"). My code is:

import java.lang.*;
import java.util.Scanner;
//i read 2 integers the first_int and second_int
//Code above
if(first_int.equals(second_int)){
//do smth
}
//Other Code

but for some reason this does not work.. i mean the Netbeans gives me an error: "int cannot be dereferenced" Why?

Answer 1

int is a primitive. You can use the wrapper Integer like

Integer first_int = 1;
Integer second_int = 1;
if(first_int.equals(second_int)){ // <-- Integer is a wrapper.

or you can compare by value (since it is a primitive type) like

int first_int = 1;
int second_int = 1;
if(first_int == second_int){ // <-- int is a primitive.

JLS-4.1. The Kinds of Types and Values says (in part)

There are two kinds of types in the Java programming language: primitive types (§4.2) and reference types (§4.3). There are, correspondingly, two kinds of data values that can be stored in variables, passed as arguments, returned by methods, and operated on: primitive values (§4.2) and reference values (§4.3).