Javascript Sorting - Example 7

Advanced sorting

This page demostrates the use of a comparison function with the Javascript sort method. The function will perform a sort on the item element in two objects in the array.

For more information return to the article "Sort Your Data with Javascript".

Example code

// Define objects for test

var testObject1 = {title: "Star City",

                   link: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-starcity.asp",

                   description: "How do Americans get ready to work with Russians aboard the space station?",

                   pubDate: "Tue, 03 Jun 2003 09:39:21 GMT", 

                   guid: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/06/03.html#item573"};

var testObject2 = {title: "Space Exploration",

                   link: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/",

				   description: "Sky watchers in Europe, Asia, and parts of Alaska and Canada will experience a partial eclipse of the Sun on Saturday, May 31st.",

				   pubDate: "Fri, 30 May 2003 11:06:42 GMT", 

				   guid: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/30.html#item572"};

var testObject3 = {title: "The Engine That Does More",

                   link: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-VASIMR.asp",

				   description: "Before man travels to Mars, NASA hopes to design new engines that will let us fly through the Solar System more quickly.  The proposed VASIMR engine would do that.",

				   pubDate: "Tue, 27 May 2003 08:37:32 GMT", 

				   guid: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/27.html#item571"};

var testObject4 = {title: "Astronauts' Dirty Laundry",

                   link: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-laundry.asp",

				   description: "Compared to earlier spacecraft, the International Space Station has many luxuries, but laundry facilities are not one of them. Instead, astronauts have other options.",

				   pubDate: "Tue, 20 May 2003 08:56:02 GMT", 

				   guid: "http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/20.html#item570"};

var testObject5 = {title: "Why Google circles are likely to fail",

                   link: "http://scripting.com/stories/2011/07/01/whyGooglesCirclesAreLikely.html",

				   description: "I write a lot. More than most. And I have been doing it for a long time.",

				   pubDate: "Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:47:32 GMT", 

				   guid: "http://scripting.com/stories/2011/07/01/whyGooglesCirclesAreLikely.html"};

// Add objects to testArray

testArray[testArray.length] = testObject1;

testArray[testArray.length] = testObject2;

testArray[testArray.length] = testObject3;

testArray[testArray.length] = testObject4;

testArray[testArray.length] = testObject5;

// Create a comparison function to sort on the pubDate element in each object

function comparepubDates(a, b) {

var pubDateValue1 = Date.parse(a.pubDate); // Get milliseconds for date/time string

var pubDateValue2 = Date.parse(b.pubDate); // Get milliseconds for date/time string

return pubDateValue1 - pubDateValue2;

}

// Sort all objects in the array using the comparison function

testArray.sort(comparepubDates);

#	Original Items	Original Notes	Sorted Items	Sorted Notes
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