Can javascript sort like windows?

Question

I need a way in Javascript to sort strings as in Windows but it seems it's impossible.

Windows explorer sorts like this:

1.jpg - 2.jpg - 3.jpg - ....

While Javascript sorts like this:

1.jpg - 10.jpg - 11.jpg - 2.jpg -...

Windows sorts based on the numeral value in the filename while Javascript just sorts by a characters' ASCII code.

Sometimes filenames aren't just numbers or text but a combination of both, eG:

"mark 01 in school.jpg"
"mark 02 in school.jpg"
"john 05 in theater.jpg"

What I need is a Javascript function that sorts like shown above.

My question is: is there a function in JS or how can I implement one on my own?

Answer 1

You can try the following algorithm for your sorting. It sorts based on characters.

http://www.davekoelle.com/files/alphanum.js

Answer 2

You will have to write your own sort function and pass it as argument to sort method. Simple example:

your_array.sort(sortfunction)

function sortfunction(a, b){
     var num1 = extractNumberFrom(a);
     var num2 = extractNumberFrom(b);
     return num1 - num2;
}

Answer 3

Just create a sort callback that sorts on strings first, then checks for numbers and sorts those correctly as well, something like

 var arr = [ "test2.jpg", "test10.jpg", "test1.jpg", "test11.jpg" ] arr.sort(function(a,b) { for (var i = 0; i < a.length; i++) { var _a = a.charAt(i), _b = b.charAt(i), _c = _a.localeCompare(_b); if ( _c != 0 ) return isNaN(_a) || isNaN(_b) ? a.localeCompare(b) : _a - _b; } }); document.body.innerHTML = '<pre>' + JSON.stringify(arr, null, 4) + '</pre>'; 

Answer 4

I created a flexibleSort function that first checks whether all your filename in an array has number only or not. If it has number only then it will compare it as Integer/number, otherwise it will treat it as String.

 var arr_number = ["2.jpg", "1.jpg", "3.jpg"]; var arr_string = ["mark 01 in school.jpg","mark 02 in school.jpg","john 05 in theater.jpg"]; var arr_number_1 = ["1.jpg","10.jpg","11.jpg","2.jpg"]; flexibleSort(arr_number); flexibleSort(arr_string); flexibleSort(arr_number_1); function flexibleSort(obj){ var all_number = true; $.each(obj, function(index, value){ if(!$.isNumeric(value.split(".")[0])){ all_number = false; } }); if(all_number === true){ obj.sort(function(a, b){return parseInt(a.split(".")[0])-parseInt(b.split(".")[0])}); }else{ obj.sort(function(a, b){return a > b}); } $.each(obj, function(index, value){ $('#result').append("<p>"+value+"</p>"); }); } 

 <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.0/jquery.min.js"></script> <div id="result"></div>