JavaScript Array sort()

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Examples

// Create an Array
const fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];

// Sort the Array
fruits.sort();

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More Examples Below !

Description

The sort() method sorts the elements of an array.

The sort() method sorts the elements as strings in alphabetical and ascending order.

The sort() method overwrites the original array.

Sort Compare Function

Sorting alphabetically works well for strings ("Apple" comes before "Banana").

But, sorting numbers can produce incorrect results.

"25" is bigger than "100", because "2" is bigger than "1".

You can fix this by providing a "compare function" (See examples below).

Syntax

array.sort(compareFunction)

Parameters

Parameter

Description

compareFunction

Optional.
A function that defines a sort order. The function should return a negative, zero, or positive value, depending on the arguments:

function(a, b){return a-b}

When sort() compares two values, it sends the values to the compare function, and sorts the values according to the returned (negative, zero, positive) value.

Example:

The sort function will sort 40 as a value lower than 100.

When comparing 40 and 100, sort() calls the function(40,100).

The function calculates 40-100, and returns -60 (a negative value).

Return Value

Type	Description
Array	The array with the items sorted.

More Examples

Sort Decending

Sort and then reverse the order:

// Create an Array
const fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];

// Sort the Array
fruits.sort();

// Reverse the array
fruits.reverse();

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Numeric Sorts

Using a Sort Function

Sort numbers in ascending order:

// Create an Array
const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the Array
points.sort(function(a, b){return a-b});

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Sort numbers in descending order:

// Create an Array
const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the Array
points.sort(function(a, b){return b-a});

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Find the lowest value:

// Create an Array
const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the numbers in ascending order
points.sort(function(a, b){return a-b});

let lowest = points[0];

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Find the highest value:

// Create an Array
const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the numbers in descending order:
points.sort(function(a, b){return b-a});

let highest = points[0];

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Find the highest value:

// Create an Array
const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the numbers in ascending order:
points.sort(function(a, b){return a-b});

let highest = points[points.length-1];

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