@Override
  public int compare(final Cell a, final Cell b, boolean ignoreSequenceid) {
    int diff = compareRows(a, b);
    if (diff != 0) {
      return diff;
    }

    diff = compareWithoutRow(a, b);
    if (diff != 0) {
      return diff;
    }

    if (ignoreSequenceid) {
      return diff;
    }
    // Negate following comparisons so later edits show up first mvccVersion: later sorts first
    return Long.compare(PrivateCellUtil.getSequenceId(b), PrivateCellUtil.getSequenceId(a));
  }
A {@link MetaCellComparator} for <code>hbase:meta</code> catalog table {@link KeyValue}s.
hbase-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/MetaCellComparator.java