How to sort NSArray with dictionary objects alphabetically?

Question

I have unsorted dictionary array and I want to sort it according to artist names.Unsorted list are given below:

            {
                artist = "Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra";
                id = 10;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Avey, Bobby";
                id = 17;
            },
                    {
                artist = "American Symphony Orchestra";
                id = 32;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Akpan, Uwem";
                id = 97;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Austin, Ivy ";
                id = 123;
            },
                    {
                artist = "American Theatre Orchestra";
                id = 153;
            },
                    {
                artist = AudraRox;
                id = 171;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Atlas, James";
                id = 224;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Alden, Howard";
                id = 270;
            },
                    {
                artist = Astrograss;
                id = 307;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Adan, Victor";
                id = 315;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Alegria, Gabriel";
                id = 316;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Andersen, Kurt";
                id = 412;
            },
                    {
                artist = Antares;
                id = 420;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Austen, Jane ";
                id = 426;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Acuna, Claudia";
                id = 443;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Akinmusire, Ambrose";
                id = 444;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Anderson, Laurie Halse";
                id = 559;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Alvarez, Javier";
                id = 591;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Alexander, Jane";
                id = 674;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Andy Teirstein";
                id = 695;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Afro-Cuban Jazz Saxtet";
                id = 707;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Aurora ";
                id = 708;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Aurora ";
                id = 709;
            },
                    {
                artist = "August, Gregg ";
                id = 715;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Aldous, Brian";
                id = 777;
            },
                    {
                artist = "Anne Enright";
                id = 1130;
            }

And after sorting using descriptor

NSSortDescriptor *sortByName = [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:@"artist" ascending:YES];
 NSArray *sortDescriptors = [NSArray arrayWithObject:sortByName];
 sortedArray = [artistArray sortedArrayUsingDescriptors:sortDescriptors];

it gives sorted array as

        {
            artist = "Acuna, Claudia";
            id = 443;
        },
            {
            artist = "Adan, Victor";
            id = 315;
        },
            {
            artist = "Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra";
            id = 10;
        },
            {
            artist = "Afro-Cuban Jazz Saxtet";
            id = 707;
        },
            {
            artist = "Akinmusire, Ambrose";
            id = 444;
        },
            {
            artist = "Akpan, Uwem";
            id = 97;
        },
            {
            artist = "Alden, Howard";
            id = 270;
        },
            {
            artist = "Aldous, Brian";
            id = 777;
        },
            {
            artist = "Alegria, Gabriel";
            id = 316;
        },
            {
            artist = "Alexander, Jane";
            id = 674;
        },
            {
            artist = "Alvarez, Javier";
            id = 591;
        },
            {
            artist = "American Symphony Orchestra";
            id = 32;
        },
            {
            artist = "American Theatre Orchestra";
            id = 153;
        },
            {
            artist = "Andersen, Kurt";
            id = 412;
        },
            {
            artist = "Anderson, Laurie Halse";
            id = 559;
        },
            {
            artist = "Andy Teirstein";
            id = 695;
        },
            {
            artist = "Anne Enright";
            id = 1130;
        },
            {
            artist = Antares;
            id = 420;
        },
            {
            artist = Astrograss;
            id = 307;
        },
            {
            artist = "Atlas, James";
            id = 224;
        },
            {
            artist = AudraRox;
            id = 171;
        },
            {
            artist = "August, Gregg ";
            id = 715;
        },
            {
            artist = "Aurora ";
            id = 708;
        },
            {
            artist = "Aurora ";
            id = 709;
        },
            {
            artist = "Austen, Jane ";
            id = 426;
        },
            {
            artist = "Austin, Ivy ";
            id = 123;
        },
            {
            artist = "Avey, Bobby";
            id = 17;
        }

But still it is not sorted completely . Any idea how can I sort it alphabetically using artist name.Help me please!

What is the problem with the sorting? The results you show are in order? What order do you expect them to be in? — David Rönnqvist, Apr 10 '12 at 06:21
possible duplicate of [How can I sort an NSArray containing NSDictionaries?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3361207/how-can-i-sort-an-nsarray-containing-nsdictionaries) — jscs, Apr 10 '12 at 06:22
Is your specific problem that the sort is case-sensitive? If so, you want `[NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:@"artist" ascending:YES selector:@selector(caseInsensitiveCompare:)]`. — Cowirrie, Apr 10 '12 at 06:22
Just follow [this link][1] you can sort it by using sort descriptor. [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3925666/sorting-an-nsarray-of-nsdictionary — Nilesh Kikani, Apr 10 '12 at 06:22
it IS sorted alphabetically by the `artist`. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_alphabet) is the english alphabet if you need it to check — Novarg, Apr 10 '12 at 06:56
@Prince kumar please write down what order you need in output. — priyanka, Apr 10 '12 at 09:47

score -1 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 11 '12 at 06:34

Using for loop set keys for every dictionaries values like this

for(int i =0;i<[Arr count];i++)
{
   [dict setValue:[Arr objectAtIndex:i] forKey:[[Arr objectAtIndex:i] valueForKey:artist]];
}

now you'll get like this

Acuna, Claudia = {
    artist = "Acuna, Claudia";
    id = 443;
}       
Adan, Victor =  {
    artist = "Adan, Victor";
    id = 315;
}       
Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra =   {
    artist = "Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra";
    id = 10;
}       
Afro-Cuban Jazz Saxtet   {
    artist = "Afro-Cuban Jazz Saxtet";
    id = 707;
}       
Akinmusire, Ambrose =   {
    artist = "Akinmusire, Ambrose";
    id = 444;
}       

NSArray *KeyArr = [dict allKeys];

[KeyArr sortedArrayUsingSelector:@selector(caseInsensitiveCompare:)];

Now you'll get sorted keys in array, Using this array you can get sorted dictionart by using sorted keys in alphapet

for(int i= 0;i<[dict count];i++)
{
     NSLog("Test val:%@",[dict valueForKay:[keyArr objectAtIndex:i]]);
}

Finally you'll get what you are seeking now.. enjoy this coding..
If you have any doubt feel free to ask..

This won't actually work, because the sorted version of `KeyArr` is discarded. You could store it using `KeyArr = [KeyArr sortedArrayUsingSelector:@selector(caseInsensitiveCompare:)];`. However, this would be less efficient than sorting the existing array using the "artist" key and the `caseInsensitiveCompare:` selector, if that is what the OP needs. — Cowirrie, Apr 10 '12 at 06:48

How to sort NSArray with dictionary objects alphabetically?

1 Answers1