Is there a way to arrange an array based on the initial value?

Question

Is there a way to arrange an array based on the initial value?

In my array, I have a mixture of strings and arrays. Each string corresponds to the array next to it. For example, the string 789 is associated with the array ['111A', '222B', '333C']. My goal is to sort based on the strings while maintaining the connection to the relevant array.

I attempted to use the sort() method, which works fine when dealing only with strings in the array. However, as soon as I introduce arrays, the default sorting behavior returns.

let myArray = [
  '789', 
  ['111A','222B','333C'], 
  '456',
  ['444E','555F','666G'], 
  '123',
  ['777H','888I','999J']
]

myArray.sort(function(a,b){
return a - b
})

Ultimately, I want the final data to be sorted like this:

['123', ['777H', '888I','999J'],
'456', ['444E', '555F', '666G'],
'789', ['111A', '222B', '333C']]

javascript arrays sorting

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to group pairs of elements in an array, sort them, and then flatten the array, you can use this approach.

var array = ['789', ['111', '222', '333'], '456', ['444', '555', '666'], '123', ['777', '888', '999']],
    result = array
        .reduce((r, v, i) => {
            if (i % 2) r[r.length - 1].push(v);
            else  r.push([v]);
            return r;
        }, [])
        .sort(([a], [b]) => a - b)
        .reduce((r, a) => r.concat(a), []);

console.log(result);

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

Answer 2

If you want to group pairs of elements in an array, sort them, and then flatten the array, you can use this approach.

var array = ['789', ['111', '222', '333'], '456', ['444', '555', '666'], '123', ['777', '888', '999']],
    result = array
        .reduce((r, v, i) => {
            if (i % 2) r[r.length - 1].push(v);
            else  r.push([v]);
            return r;
        }, [])
        .sort(([a], [b]) => a - b)
        .reduce((r, a) => r.concat(a), []);

console.log(result);

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

Answer 3

Answer №2

To keep the 2 elements together for each String found, consider creating an array and then sorting by the strings while applying a concat function to rearrange the array in the desired order:

let myArray = [
      '789',
      ['111', '222', '333'],
      '456',
      ['444', '555', '666'],
      '123',
      ['777', '888', '999'],
];
    
const orderMyArrayByTheStrings = (myArray) => {
    
  const myArrayWithArrays = myArray
        .reduce((acc, el, index, array) => {
          if (!(el instanceof Array)) {
            return acc.push([el, array[index + 1]]) && acc;
          } else {
            return acc;
          }
        }, [])

  const myArraySortedByStrings = myArrayWithArrays.sort((a, b) => {
          return a[0] - b[0];
        })
    
  return [].concat.apply([], myArraySortedByStrings)
    
}
    
console.log(orderMyArrayByTheStrings(myArray))

Answer 4

To keep the 2 elements together for each String found, consider creating an array and then sorting by the strings while applying a concat function to rearrange the array in the desired order:

let myArray = [
      '789',
      ['111', '222', '333'],
      '456',
      ['444', '555', '666'],
      '123',
      ['777', '888', '999'],
];
    
const orderMyArrayByTheStrings = (myArray) => {
    
  const myArrayWithArrays = myArray
        .reduce((acc, el, index, array) => {
          if (!(el instanceof Array)) {
            return acc.push([el, array[index + 1]]) && acc;
          } else {
            return acc;
          }
        }, [])

  const myArraySortedByStrings = myArrayWithArrays.sort((a, b) => {
          return a[0] - b[0];
        })
    
  return [].concat.apply([], myArraySortedByStrings)
    
}
    
console.log(orderMyArrayByTheStrings(myArray))

Answer 5

Answer №3

If you want to customize the sorting function, you can modify it to change the type of items - like using toString().

let myArray = [
    '789', 
    ['111','222','333'], 
    '456',
    ['444','555','666'], 
    '123',
    ['777','888','999']
];
myArray.sort((left,right)=>{
    if(left.toString() < right.toString()) {
        return -1;
    } else if(left.toString() > right.toString()) {
        return 1;
    } else {
        return 0;
    }
});

Answer 6

If you want to customize the sorting function, you can modify it to change the type of items - like using toString().

let myArray = [
    '789', 
    ['111','222','333'], 
    '456',
    ['444','555','666'], 
    '123',
    ['777','888','999']
];
myArray.sort((left,right)=>{
    if(left.toString() < right.toString()) {
        return -1;
    } else if(left.toString() > right.toString()) {
        return 1;
    } else {
        return 0;
    }
});

Is there a way to arrange an array based on the initial value?

Answer №1

Answer №2

Answer №3

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