Javascript object list sorting by object property

Question

I need to do this:

(sorry not in javascript syntax-still learning object language :) )

object=car

attibutes:top-speed, brand....

now I want to sort the list of those cars in order by top-speed, brand...

How do I do this (please note the solution must be javascript only, no php or other stuff) ?

Answer 1

javascript has the sort function which can take another function as parameter - that second function is used to compare two elements.

Example:

cars = [

    {
        name: "Honda",
        speed: 80
    },

    {
        name: "BMW",
        speed: 180
    },

    {
        name: "Trabi",
        speed: 40
    },

    {
        name: "Ferrari",
        speed: 200
    }
]


cars.sort(function(a, b) { 
    return a.speed - b.speed;
})

for(var i in cars)
    document.writeln(cars[i].name) // Trabi Honda BMW Ferrari 

ok, from your comment i see that you're using the word 'sort' in a wrong sense. In programming "sort" means "put things in a certain order", not "arrange things in groups". The latter is much simpler - this is just how you "sort" things in the real world

• make two empty arrays ("boxes")
• for each object in your list, check if it matches the criteria
• if yes, put it in the first "box"
• if no, put it in the second "box"

Answer 2

Example.

This runs on cscript.exe, on windows.

// define the Car class
(function() {
    // makeClass - By John Resig (MIT Licensed)
    // Allows either new User() or User() to be employed for construction.
    function makeClass(){
        return function(args){
            if ( this instanceof arguments.callee ) {
                if ( typeof this.init == "function" )
                    this.init.apply( this, (args && args.callee) ? args : arguments );
            } else
                return new arguments.callee( arguments );
        };
    }

    Car = makeClass();

    Car.prototype.init = function(make, model, price, topSpeed, weight) {
        this.make = make;
        this.model = model;
        this.price = price;
        this.weight = weight;
        this.topSpeed = topSpeed;
    };
})();


// create a list of cars
var autos = [
    new Car("Chevy", "Corvair", 1800, 88, 2900),
    new Car("Buick", "LeSabre", 31000, 138, 3700),
    new Car("Toyota", "Prius", 24000, 103, 3200),
    new Car("Porsche", "911", 92000, 155, 3100),
    new Car("Mercedes", "E500", 67000, 145, 3800),
    new Car("VW", "Passat", 31000, 135, 3700)
];

// a list of sorting functions
var sorters = {
    byWeight : function(a,b) {
        return (a.weight - b.weight);
    },
    bySpeed : function(a,b) {
        return (a.topSpeed - b.topSpeed);
    },
    byPrice : function(a,b) {
        return (a.price - b.price);
    },
    byModelName : function(a,b) {
        return ((a.model < b.model) ? -1 : ((a.model > b.model) ? 1 : 0));
    },
    byMake : function(a,b) {
        return ((a.make < b.make) ? -1 : ((a.make > b.make) ? 1 : 0));
    }
};

function say(s) {WScript.Echo(s);}

function show(title)
{
    say ("sorted by: "+title);
    for (var i=0; i < autos.length; i++) {
        say("  " + autos[i].model);
    }
    say(" ");
}

autos.sort(sorters.byWeight);
show("Weight");

autos.sort(sorters.byModelName);
show("Name");

autos.sort(sorters.byPrice);
show("Price");

You can also make a general sorter.

var byProperty = function(prop) {
    return function(a,b) {
        if (typeof a[prop] == "number") {
            return (a[prop] - b[prop]);
        } else {
            return ((a[prop] < b[prop]) ? -1 : ((a[prop] > b[prop]) ? 1 : 0));
        }
    };
};

autos.sort(byProperty("topSpeed"));
show("Top Speed");