* way of "cutting" a "number line" (actually of instances of type {@code C}, not necessarily
 * "numbers") into two sections; this can be done below a certain value, above a certain value,
 * below all values or above all values. With this object defined in this way, an interval can
 * always be represented by a pair of {@code Cut} instances.
 *
 * @author Kevin Bourrillion
 */

modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
  list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this
  list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or
  other materials provided with the distribution.

use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of
the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,

to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and technical ability. We will not tolerate
discrimination based on any of the protected characteristics above, including participants with
disabilities.

Reporting Issues
----------------

If you experience or witness unacceptable behavior — or have any other concerns — please report it by

                    (byte) 0x01, // up to here, same bytes as above
                (byte) 0x01, (byte) 0x02, (byte) 0x03, (byte) 0x04,
                (byte) 0x05, (byte) 0x06, (byte) 0x07, (byte) 0x08
              },
              0x89abcdef,
              0x0123456789abcdefL, // asInt/asLong as above, due to equal eight first bytes
              "efcdab89674523010102030405060708"),

 * result in the chain, or will be zero if every comparison result was zero.
 *
 * <p><b>Note:</b> {@code ComparisonChain} instances are <b>immutable</b>. For this utility to work
 * correctly, calls must be chained as illustrated above.
 *
 * <p>Performance note: Even though the {@code ComparisonChain} caller always invokes its {@code
 * compare} methods unconditionally, the {@code ComparisonChain} implementation stops calling its