How can I sort these numerical strings in ascending order?

Question

I tried to sort an array using .sort(), but the output is not what I expected.

arr = ["0_11_6_comment", "0_3_6_comment", "0_5_4_comment"]
arr.sort();

Here is my expected output:

["0_3_6_comment", "0_5_4_comment", "0_11_6_comment"]

But I am getting this:

["0_11_6_comment", "0_3_6_comment", "0_5_4_comment"]

means you want to sort with 2nd interger values : 0_3_6_comment. 3<5<11 or something else? — Gurmeet, Feb 19 '14 at 06:04
well, you sort it because the 2nd integer value 1<3<5, so it will not change the order by using arr.sort. — blio, Feb 19 '14 at 06:07
I don't know what you are actually trying to do since we are still waiting for additional informations, but I guess you're aware that the accepted answer is not able to sort such an array : `["0_1_3_comment", "0_1_1_comment", "0_1_2_comment"]`. Next time, feel free to [reply to comments](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21872339/sort-in-ascending-order-using-javascript?answertab=votes#comment33115612_21872339) in order to help folks to provide a better help. — , Feb 19 '14 at 06:40

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 19 '14 at 06:12

The array is sorting, though it's sorting in lexicographic order, not numerical, and that's probably not what you want. If you want to change how the sort() method sorts, you need to provide your own definition of what "sorting" means. Do this by passing a comparison function as a parameter.

See here for more details:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/sort

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 19 '14 at 07:25

0

If you would like to sort based on 2nd integer value. use this:

var arr = ["0_11_6_comment", "0_3_6_comment", "0_5_4_comment"];
alert(arr);
arr = arr.sort(function(a,b) {
    return parseFloat(a.split("_")[1]) - parseFloat(b.split("_")[1]) 
});
alert(arr);

DEMO

edited Feb 19 '14 at 07:25

answered Feb 19 '14 at 06:07

Kiran

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11
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score 0 · Answer 3 · 2014-02-19T06:44:10.687

0

Try this :

a.sort(function (a, b) {
    // '1_2_3_comment'.split('_')
    // gives ["1", "2", "3", "comment"]
    a = a.split('_');
    b = b.split('_');
    // if a[i] - b[i] = 0 then check next
    return a[0] - b[0] || a[1] - b[1] || a[2] - b[2];
});

Read : https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/sort.

edited Feb 19 '14 at 06:44

answered Feb 19 '14 at 06:07

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

0

Here's a JSFiddle with the answer

I suggest reading this.

ary.sort(function (a, b) {
  return getSecondInteger(a) > getSecondInteger(b) ? 1 : -1;
});

function getSecondInteger (str) {
  return Number(str.split('_')[1]);
}

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

1
1

answered Feb 19 '14 at 06:15

aleclarson

18,087
14
64
91

Farkhat Mikhalko · Answer 5 · 2014-02-19T06:30:23.453

0

Try this

var arr = ["0_11_6_comment", "0_3_6_comment", "0_5_4_comment", "1_2_3_comment"];
arr.sort(function(a, b){
  a = a.match(/\d+/g);
  b = b.match(/\d+/g);
  return a[0] - b[0] || a[1] - b[1] || a[2] - b[2];
});

console.log(arr)
// result is ["0_3_6_comment", "0_5_4_comment", "0_11_6_comment", "1_2_3"]

Try demo

edited Feb 19 '14 at 06:30

answered Feb 19 '14 at 06:16

Farkhat Mikhalko

3,565
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Two times slower than [mine](http://stackoverflow.com/a/21872440/1636522) : http://jsperf.com/q-21872339-1636522. Then, your regular expression could be shorter : `/\d+/g` ;) – Feb 19 '14 at 06:22

How can I sort these numerical strings in ascending order?

5 Answers5

Here's a JSFiddle with the answer