Organizing an array in JavaScript that includes both version numbers and letters, with each letter representing a specific numerical value

Question

Organizing an array in JavaScript that includes both version numbers and letters, with each letter representing a specific numerical value

If given an array similar to this one:

input = [
    "1.1",
    "1.c",
    "1.b",
    "1",
    "D",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

What is the best approach to sorting it in order to achieve the following result:

sorted = [
    "1",
    "1.1",
    "1.b",
    "1.c",
    "b",
    "2.a.1",
    "2.1.2",
    "3",
    "4",
    "D",
    "5.1"
]

In the sorting process, consider:

'a' or 'A' should be treated as 1,

'b' or 'B' should be treated as 2,

and so forth.

The array only contains numbers and letters, no symbols.

I have attempted the following code:

input = ["1", "1.1", "1.b", "1.c", "b", "2.a.1", "2.1.2", "3", "4", "D", "5.1"]
console.log(input.sort((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b)));

This code did not produce the desired outcome. I would appreciate any suggestions or assistance with this issue. Thank you!

javascript arrays sorting

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to arrange the inputs in a specific order, you can achieve this by utilizing a custom function along with the sort function. Below is an example of how I tackled this task:

input = [
    "1.1",
    "1.c",
    "1.b",
    "1",
    "D",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

function convert(el){
 const nums = el.split(".");
 return nums.map(n => {
    if(n.match(/[A-z]/)){ 
      return n.toLowerCase().charCodeAt(0) - 96;
    }
    return n;
  }).join(".");
}

input.sort((a,b) => {
  const convA = convert(a);
  const convB = convert(b);
  return convA.localeCompare(convB);
})

console.log(input);

Answer 2

If you want to arrange the inputs in a specific order, you can achieve this by utilizing a custom function along with the sort function. Below is an example of how I tackled this task:

input = [
    "1.1",
    "1.c",
    "1.b",
    "1",
    "D",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

function convert(el){
 const nums = el.split(".");
 return nums.map(n => {
    if(n.match(/[A-z]/)){ 
      return n.toLowerCase().charCodeAt(0) - 96;
    }
    return n;
  }).join(".");
}

input.sort((a,b) => {
  const convA = convert(a);
  const convB = convert(b);
  return convA.localeCompare(convB);
})

console.log(input);

Answer 3

Answer №2

Check out a simplified version of @mgm793's sorting function:

input = [
    "1.1",
    "1.c",
    "1.b",
    "1",
    "D",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

function convertStr(str){
 return str.toLowerCase().replace(/[a-z]/g, char => char.charCodeAt(0) - 96)
}

input.sort((a, b) => convertStr(a).localeCompare(convertStr(b)))

console.log(input);

Here is an enhanced version that maintains stability for numbers up to 26 and letters up to z:

input = [
    "1.10",
    "1.m",
    "1.b",
    "1.1.3",
    "1",
    "F",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

let result = input.map(e => [e.toLowerCase().replace(/\d+/g, num => String.fromCharCode(+num + 96)), e])
             .sort(([a], [b]) => a.localeCompare(b))
             .map(([_, e]) => e);

console.log(result);

This code snippet converts numeric values and alpha-numeric combinations into strings using characters between a and z, along with dots (.). These transformed strings are easily sorted using the String.localeCompare() method. The original values are paired with these modified strings in a temporary array, which is then sorted based on the string comparison results. Finally, the original values are extracted from this temp array in a final mapping loop. This approach ensures that the original input array remains unchanged while the variable result holds the sorted values.

Answer 4

Check out a simplified version of @mgm793's sorting function:

input = [
    "1.1",
    "1.c",
    "1.b",
    "1",
    "D",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

function convertStr(str){
 return str.toLowerCase().replace(/[a-z]/g, char => char.charCodeAt(0) - 96)
}

input.sort((a, b) => convertStr(a).localeCompare(convertStr(b)))

console.log(input);

Here is an enhanced version that maintains stability for numbers up to 26 and letters up to z:

input = [
    "1.10",
    "1.m",
    "1.b",
    "1.1.3",
    "1",
    "F",
    "b",
    "4",
    "2.1.2",
    "5.1",
    "3",
    "2.a.1"
]

let result = input.map(e => [e.toLowerCase().replace(/\d+/g, num => String.fromCharCode(+num + 96)), e])
             .sort(([a], [b]) => a.localeCompare(b))
             .map(([_, e]) => e);

console.log(result);

This code snippet converts numeric values and alpha-numeric combinations into strings using characters between a and z, along with dots (.). These transformed strings are easily sorted using the String.localeCompare() method. The original values are paired with these modified strings in a temporary array, which is then sorted based on the string comparison results. Finally, the original values are extracted from this temp array in a final mapping loop. This approach ensures that the original input array remains unchanged while the variable result holds the sorted values.

Organizing an array in JavaScript that includes both version numbers and letters, with each letter representing a specific numerical value

Answer №1

Answer №2

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