Sorting an array in numerical order
For the most part, sorting
numerical values means you want them sorted numerically. JavaScript
understands that, and in a while, you will understand how to.
Sorting an array in numerical
order still involves the same sort()
method, with a little twist:
arrayname.sort(functionname)
"functionname" represents the
returned value of a special function created specifically for the sort() method. A function
like this has the following format:
function myfunction(a,b){
return(a-b)
}
Lets first put all this
together and sort an array numerically, before anything else:
function sortit(a,b){
return(a-b)
}
var myarray=new Array(70,43,8)
myarray.sort(sortit)
//myarray[0] is now 8, myarray[1] is now 43, myarray[2] is now 70
Ok, so what's "a" and "b", and why all this weird additional
syntax? Well, "a" and "b" are two imaginary values the sort() method uses to
determine how to sort an array. Subtracting "b" from "a" indicates to
the sort() method that we want it to sort the
array numerically.
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