Sort javascript array by numbers and letters

Question

I want to sort this javascript array:

 [103,3,4,6,8,"8L",67,1,11,19,68,86,107,"9L"];

sort it by numbers and letters, so the result will look like this:

 [1,3,4,6,8,"8L","9L",11,19,67,68,86,103,107];

When I try to use sort(), it doesn't work:

 [1,3,4,6,8,68,103,"8L",11,19,67,86,107,"9L"]; // 8L and 9L are in the wrong place

// correct wanted order
var correct = [1,3,4,6,8,"8L","9L",11,19,67,68,86,103,107];
document.body.innerHTML += '<b>correct wanted order:</b> <pre>' + JSON.stringify(correct) + '</pre>';

// array to order
var unordered = [103,3,4,6,8,"8L",67,1,11,19,68,86,107,"9L"];
document.body.innerHTML += '<b>array to order:</b> <pre>' + JSON.stringify(unordered) + '</pre>';
    
unordered = unordered.map(item => {
  return item;
});

var ordered = unordered.sort(function(a, b) {
     return a - b;
});

document.body.innerHTML += '<b>order attempt:</b> <pre>' + JSON.stringify(ordered) + '</pre>';

Does this answer your question? [Sort array of objects by string property value](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1129216/sort-array-of-objects-by-string-property-value) — amphetamachine, May 08 '20 at 16:14
@amphetamachine Sort() indeed should be used, but the answer is how? — Elron, May 08 '20 at 16:26
@D.Seah I have updated my code snippet to show you what I've tried — Elron, May 08 '20 at 16:26

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered May 08 '20 at 16:28

1

You can do this easily using array .sort() & localeCompare() method by passing the {numeric: true} option like:

var unordered = [103,3,4,6,8,"8L",67,1,11,19,68,86,107,"9L"];
var correct = unordered.sort((a,b) => 
  a.toString().localeCompare(b.toString(), undefined, {numeric: true}))
console.log( correct )

.as-console-wrapper { max-height: 100% !important; top: 0; }

answered May 08 '20 at 16:28

palaѕн

72,112
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I am sorry, but I am not a PHP programmer. You can try to post a new question regarding that with a PHP tag. – palaѕн May 10 '20 at 06:42

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 08 '20 at 16:47

It looks like you'll want to start by treating everything in your sort function like a string. Then split the numbers from the rest of the string and test them separately. Something like this:

const ordered = unordered.sort(function(a, b) {
  // Break apart the assumed strings (Numbers then everything else)
  const [, aNumber, aString] = `${a}`.match(/(\d*)(.*)/);
  const [, bNumber, bString] = `${b}`.match(/(\d*)(.*)/);

  // Test numbers
  if(Number(aNumber) < Number(bNumber)) return -1;
  if(Number(aNumber) > Number(bNumber)) return 1;

  // Test letters if there is a tie
  return aString < bString ? -1 : 1;
});

Sort javascript array by numbers and letters

2 Answers2

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