Sorting an ArrayList on a child's value in C#

Question

I have an ArrayList that contains multiple String[] (String arrays).

Each String[] contains a key: name

What I want to do is sort the ArrayList based on the value of name .

Using Array.Sort did not work because it cannot compare String[] . How can I sort the ArrayList based on the value of name that is within the String[] ?

Answer 1

In LINQ:

var ordered = arrayList.Cast<String[]>().OrderBy(ar => arr[0]);

Normally it's better to use a strong typed List<String[]> instead of an ArrayList . When you say key it sounds as if you want to have a list of strings for each unique key. Then a Dictionary<String, String[]> would be the best choice.

Answer 2

You should be using a List<string[]> . It supports everything that ArrayList does, and it is strongly typed.

Using a List<string[]> :

IEnumerable<string[]> sorted = myList.OrderBy(s => s[0]);

Answer 3

Try this

ArrayList arr = new ArrayList();
arr.ToArray().OrderBy(p => p);

Answer 4

使用Array.Sort（Array，IComparer）并编写自己的比较器，该比较器在String []中查找您的键并进行比较。

Answer 5

You can create an IComparer an use

public virtual void Sort(
    IComparer comparer
)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/0e743hdt.aspx

Answer 6

You can pass to Array.Sort either a delegate or a class implementing an interface that implements the custom comparison you need. See some examples http://bytes.com/topic/c-sharp/answers/235679-two-dimension-array-sort .