Java BigDecimal.compareTo() is a method in the Java BigDecimal class that compares two BigDecimal objects numerically. It returns a negative value if the first BigDecimal is smaller, zero if they are equal, and a positive value if the first BigDecimal is larger. Introduced in Java 2004 with Java 5, compareTo() is essential for sorting and comparing high-precision values in financial and scientific applications.

https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/math/BigDecimal.html