Sort an array of object by timestamp

Question

I have the following object :

var jsonList = {
   ref : "TEST1",
   inventory : [
         {
            id : "a1",
            date : 1401462270
         },
         {
            id : "a2",
            date : 1414836094
         }
   ]
}

inventory array is not sorted by date, i would like to sort this array of object by date. The more recent in first position.

How can i do that ?

Show what have you tried first – hindmost Dec 09 '15 at 14:08 — hindmost, Dec 09 '15 at 14:08

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 09 '15 at 14:19

2

While there are integers, you can return the difference for comparing.

var jsonList = { ref: "TEST1", inventory: [{ id: "a1", date: 1401462270 }, { id: "a2", date: 1414836094 }] },
    sorted = jsonList.inventory.sort(function(a, b) {
        return a.date - b.date;
    });

document.write('<pre>' + JSON.stringify(sorted, 0, 4) + '</pre>');

answered Dec 09 '15 at 14:19

Nina Scholz

376,160
25
347
392

1

It wouldn't matter if they were strings (e.g. `date : "1414836094"`), the `-` operator coerces the values to Number. The example would be better if the dates weren't sorted to start with. ;-) – RobG Dec 09 '15 at 14:22

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 09 '15 at 14:08

0

var sorted = jsonList.inventory.sort(function(a,b) {
   return a.date < b.date ? -1 : 1;
});

answered Dec 09 '15 at 14:08

Arnaud Gueras

2,014
11
14

1

What about if `a == b`? Maybe `return a.date - b.date`. – RobG Dec 09 '15 at 14:20
3

While this code may answer the question, providing additional context regarding why and/or how this code answers the question improves its long-term value. – ryanyuyu Dec 09 '15 at 15:27

Sort an array of object by timestamp

2 Answers2