Can someone explain the equal method?

Question

@Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (this == obj)
return true;
if (obj == null)
return false;
if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
return false;
Animal other = (Animal) obj;
if (name == null) {
if (other.name != null)
return false;
} else if (!name.equals(other.name))
return false;
return true;
}
}

Answer 1

added comment to each step

@Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
// 1 check for if it the same reference
if (this == obj)
return true;
// 2 the sent object is null value (uninitialized)
if (obj == null)
return false;
// 3 the objects are of different classes
if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
return false;
// 4 cast the compared object to Animal class
Animal other = (Animal) obj;
// 5 compare an inner class field called "name"
if (name == null) {
// 6 the "this" object name is null and the compared object is not
if (other.name != null)
return false;
// 7 the inner class field "name" is different than the compared object
} else if (!name.equals(other.name))
return false;
// 8 checked all the falsey cases, meaning the objects are equal (names are equal for this specific object type)
return true;
}
}

Answer 2

equals checks if the two obhects have exactly the same datatype and value

Answer 3

I mean the steps in the method? I dont quite understand