Comparable vs. Comparator interface?

[Armin Beganovic]

Hi,

I'm still having trouble understanding the difference with these two interface types.

When do we use comparable, and when do we use comparator? What can comparator do which comparable can't?

I understand that compareTo() compares a implicit parameter with a explicit parameter, where compare() compares two explicit parameters, but what does this difference mean?

[Tolls]

Comparable is an interface generally implemented by a class that is Comparable.
In other words, a class which you want to assign a "natural order" to.
You use a Comparator to provide ordering for something that does not have a natural order, or whose order for a particular List (for example) is not the same as its natural order.