JavaScript Sorting Arrays
Sorting an Array
The sort() method sorts an array alphabetically:
Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits.sort(); // Sorts the elements of fruits
Try it Yourself »
Reversing an Array
The reverse() method reverses the elements in an array.
You can use it to sort an array in descending order:
Example
var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits.sort();
// First sort the elements of fruits
fruits.reverse();
// Then reverse the order of the elements
Try it Yourself »
Numeric Sort
By default, the sort() function sorts values as strings.
This works well for strings ("Apple" comes before "Banana").
However, if numbers are sorted as strings, "25" is bigger than "100", because "2" is bigger than "1".
Because of this, the sort() method will produce incorrect result when sorting
numbers.
You can fix this by providing a compare function:
Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return a - b});
Try it Yourself »
Use the same trick to sort an array descending:
Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return b - a});
Try it Yourself »
The Compare Function
The purpose of the compare function is to define an alternative sort order.
The compare function should return a negative, zero, or positive value, depending on the arguments:
function(a, b){return a - b}
When the sort() function compares two values, it sends the values to the
compare function, and sorts the values according to the returned (negative,
zero, positive) value.
If the result is negative a is sorted before
b.
If the result is positive b is sorted
before a.
If the result is 0 no changes are done with the sort order of the two values.
Example:
The compare function compares all the values in the array, two values at a
time (a, b).
When comparing 40 and 100, the sort() method calls the compare function(40, 100).
The function calculates 40 - 100 (a - b), and
since the result is negative (-60), the sort function will sort 40 as a value lower than 100.
You can use this code snippet to experiment with numerically and alphabetically sorting:
<button onclick="myFunction1()">Sort Alphabetically</button>
<button
onclick="myFunction2()">Sort Numerically</button>
<p id="demo"></p>
<script>
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = points;
function
myFunction1() {
points.sort();
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML
= points;
}
function myFunction2() {
points.sort(function(a, b){return
a - b});
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = points;
}
</script>
Try it Yourself »
Sorting an Array in Random Order
Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return 0.5 - Math.random()});
Find the Highest (or Lowest) Array Value
There are no built-in functions for finding the max or min value in an array.
However, after you have sorted an array, you can use the index to obtain the highest and lowest values.
Sorting ascending:
Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return a - b});
// now points[0] contains the lowest value
// and points[points.length-1] contains the highest value
Try it Yourself »
Sorting descending:
Example
var points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return b - a});
// now points[0] contains the highest value
// and points[points.length-1] contains the lowest value
Try it Yourself »
Sorting a whole array is a very inefficient method if you only want to find the highest (or lowest) value.
Using Math.max() on an Array
You can use Math.max.apply to find the highest number in an array:
Math.max.apply(null, [1, 2, 3]) is equivalent to Math.max(1, 2, 3).
Using Math.min() on an Array
You can use Math.min.apply to find the lowest number in an array:
Math.min.apply(null, [1, 2, 3]) is equivalent to Math.min(1, 2, 3).
My Min / Max JavaScript Methods
The fastest solution is to use a "home made" method.
This function loops through an array comparing each value with the highest value found:
Example (Find Max)
function myArrayMax(arr) {
var len = arr.length;
var max = -Infinity;
while (len--) {
if (arr[len] > max) {
max = arr[len];
}
}
return max;
}
This function loops through an array comparing each value with the lowest value found:
Example (Find Min)
function myArrayMin(arr) {
var len = arr.length;
var min = Infinity;
while (len--) {
if (arr[len] < min) {
min = arr[len];
}
}
return min;
}
Sorting Object Arrays
JavaScript arrays often contain objects:
Example
var cars = [
{type:"Volvo", year:2016},
{type:"Saab", year:2001},
{type:"BMW", year:2010}
];
Even if objects have properties of different data types, the sort() method
can be used to sort the array.
The solution is to write a compare function to compare the property values:
Comparing string properties is a little more complex:
Example
cars.sort(function(a, b){
var x = a.type.toLowerCase();
var y = b.type.toLowerCase();
if (x < y) {return -1;}
if (x > y) {return 1;}
return 0;
});
Try it Yourself »
