Reorder DIV's based on element attributes

Question

I'm not sure how to go about doing this. Let's say I have the following HTML code:

<div id="container">
  <div class="item" order="5"></div>
  <div class="item" order="3"></div>
  <div class="item" order="4"></div>
  <div class="item" order="1"></div>
  <div class="item" order="2"></div>
</div>

Using jQuery, how could I order these divs based on the attribute "order"? By reorder, I mean I would like the dom to update the order of the divs based on the attribute "order". This would naturally adjust the z-index of the divs as well. I know that setting the z-index based on the attribute order will give me the correct display in the browser window, but it won't manipulate the dom order.

I assume I would loop through #container and get the child and its order like so:

$('#container > div').each( function(event) {
   var itemOrder = $(this).attr('order');
});

...but I'm at a loss on how to manipulate the order. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

You can do this :

$('#container').append($('#container .item').sort(function(a,b){
   return a.getAttribute('order')-b.getAttribute('order');
}));

Demonstration

Answer 2

$('#container > div').each( function(event) {
    $(this).css('z-index', $(this).attr('order'));
});

Answer 3

Try to look here. Could be useful for understanding fundamental principles. http://james.padolsey.com/javascript/sorting-elements-with-jquery/

Answer 4

I think u want this :DEMO

 $('#container > div').sortElements(function(a, b){
    return parseInt($(a).attr('order')) > parseInt($(b).attr('order')) ? 1 : -1;
});

Answer 5

Here is how to sort divs by attribute "tag" as a single word. JSFiddle has code to check for multiple words, etc. Posting because couldn't find solution when I was looking for it.

<div id="tag_sections">
   <!-- populated with sorted divs -->    
</div>
<div id="all_tags">
    <div data-tag="blue">8</div>
    <div>1</div>
    <div data-tag="tag">2</div>
    <div data-tag="red">3</div>
    <div data-tag="blue">4</div>
    <div>5</div>
    <div data-tag="red">6</div>
    <div data-tag="blue">7</div>
</div>
<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
    // sort all by title tag
    var allTags = [];
    $('#all_tags div').each(function() {
       theTag = $(this).attr('data-tag');
       if (!theTag) { theTag = 'ungrouped'; }
       if (!$('#'+theTag).length) {
            allTags.push(theTag);
            $('#tag_sections').append('<div id="'+theTag+'"><h3>'+theTag+'</h3></div>');   
       }
       if ($.inArray(theTag, allTags) > -1) {
           $('#tag_sections #'+theTag).append($(this));
       }
    });
</script>

http://jsfiddle.net/zyEwF/269/

Demo of sorting by attribute value that is not a number and creates new div to add those sorted elements into.