Sorting an array of JavaScript objects

Here's a more flexible version, which allows you to create reusable sort functions, and sort by any field.

var sort_by = function(field, reverse, primer){

   var key = primer ? 
       function(x) {return primer(x[field])} : 
       function(x) {return x[field]};

   reverse = !reverse ? 1 : -1;

   return function (a, b) {
       return a = key(a), b = key(b), reverse * ((a > b) - (b > a));
     } 
}

Now you can sort by any field at will...

var homes = [{

   "h_id": "3",
   "city": "Dallas",
   "state": "TX",
   "zip": "75201",
   "price": "162500"

}, {

   "h_id": "4",
   "city": "Bevery Hills",
   "state": "CA",
   "zip": "90210",
   "price": "319250"

}, {

   "h_id": "5",
   "city": "New York",
   "state": "NY",
   "zip": "00010",
   "price": "962500"

}];

// Sort by price high to low
homes.sort(sort_by('price', true, parseInt));

// Sort by city, case-insensitive, A-Z
homes.sort(sort_by('city', false, function(a){return a.toUpperCase()}));

To sort it you need to create a comparator function taking two arguments. Then call the sort function with that comparator function as follows:

// a and b are object elements of your array
function mycomparator(a,b) {
  return parseInt(a.price, 10) - parseInt(b.price, 10);
}
homes.sort(mycomparator);

If you want to sort ascending switch the expressions on each side of the minus sign.

You want to sort it in Javascript, right? What you want is the sort() function. In this case you need to write a comparator function and pass it to sort(), so something like this:

function comparator(a, b) {
    return parseInt(a["price"], 10) - parseInt(b["price"], 10);
}

var json = { "homes": [ /* your previous data */ ] };
console.log(json["homes"].sort(comparator));

Your comparator takes one of each of the nested hashes inside the array and decides which one is higher by checking the "price" field.

for string sorting in case some one needs it,

var dataArr = {  

    "hello": [{
    "id": 114,
    "keyword": "zzzzzz",
    "region": "Sri Lanka",
    "supportGroup": "administrators",
    "category": "Category2"
}, {
    "id": 115,
    "keyword": "aaaaa",
    "region": "Japan",
    "supportGroup": "developers",
    "category": "Category2"
}]

};
var sortArray = dataArr['hello'];
sortArray.sort(function(a,b) {
    if ( a.region < b.region )
        return -1;
    if ( a.region > b.region )
        return 1;
    return 0;
} );

A best implementation of sortBy method by implementing Schwartzian transform can be found here: gist: sortBy.js

For now we are going to try this approach gist: sortBy-old.js.
Let's create a method to sort arrays being able to arrange objects by some property.

Creating the sorting function

var sortBy = (function () {

  //cached privated objects
  var _toString = Object.prototype.toString,
      //the default parser function
      _parser = function (x) { return x; },
      //gets the item to be sorted
      _getItem = function (x) {
        return this.parser((x !== null && typeof x === "object" && x[this.prop]) || x);
      };

  // Creates a method for sorting the Array
  // @array: the Array of elements
  // @o.prop: property name (if it is an Array of objects)
  // @o.desc: determines whether the sort is descending
  // @o.parser: function to parse the items to expected type
  return function (array, o) {
    if (!(array instanceof Array) || !array.length)
      return [];
    if (_toString.call(o) !== "[object Object]")
      o = {};
    if (typeof o.parser !== "function")
      o.parser = _parser;
    o.desc = !!o.desc ? -1 : 1;
    return array.sort(function (a, b) {
      a = _getItem.call(o, a);
      b = _getItem.call(o, b);
      return o.desc * (a < b ? -1 : +(a > b));
    });
  };

}());

Setting unsorted data

var data = [
  {date: "2011-11-14T17:25:45Z", quantity: 2, total: 200, tip: 0,   type: "cash"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:28:54Z", quantity: 1, total: 300, tip: 200, type: "visa"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:30:43Z", quantity: 2, total: 90,  tip: 0,   type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T17:22:59Z", quantity: 2, total: 90,  tip: 0,   type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:53:41Z", quantity: 2, total: 90,  tip: 0,   type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:48:46Z", quantity: 2, total: 90,  tip: 0,   type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-31T17:29:52Z", quantity: 1, total: 200, tip: 100, type: "visa"},
  {date: "2011-11-01T16:17:54Z", quantity: 2, total: 190, tip: 100, type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:58:03Z", quantity: 2, total: 90,  tip: 0,   type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:20:19Z", quantity: 2, total: 190, tip: 100, type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T17:07:21Z", quantity: 2, total: 90,  tip: 0,   type: "tab"},
  {date: "2011-11-14T16:54:06Z", quantity: 1, total: 100, tip: 0,   type: "cash"}
];

Using it

Finally, we arrange the array, by "date" property as string

//sort the object by a property (ascending)
//sorting takes into account uppercase and lowercase
sortBy(data, { prop: "date" });

If you want to ignore letter case, set the "parser" callback:

//sort the object by a property (descending)
//sorting ignores uppercase and lowercase
sortBy(data, {
    prop: "date",
    desc: true,
    parser: function (item) {
        //ignore case sensitive
        return item.toUpperCase();
    }
});

If you want to treat the "date" field as Date type:

//sort the object by a property (ascending)
//sorting parses each item to Date type
sortBy(data, {
    prop: "date",
    parser: function (item) {
        return new Date(item);
    }
});

Here you can play with the above example:
http://jsbin.com/kucawudaco/

Here is a culmination of all answers above.

Fiddle validation: http://jsfiddle.net/bobberino/4qqk3/

var sortOn = function (arr, prop, reverse, numeric) {

    // Ensure there's a property
    if (!prop || !arr) {
        return arr
    }

    // Set up sort function
    var sort_by = function (field, rev, primer) {

        // Return the required a,b function
        return function (a, b) {

            // Reset a, b to the field
            a = primer(a[field]), b = primer(b[field]);

            // Do actual sorting, reverse as needed
            return ((a < b) ? -1 : ((a > b) ? 1 : 0)) * (rev ? -1 : 1);
        }

    }

    // Distinguish between numeric and string to prevent 100's from coming before smaller
    // e.g.
    // 1
    // 20
    // 3
    // 4000
    // 50

    if (numeric) {

        // Do sort "in place" with sort_by function
        arr.sort(sort_by(prop, reverse, function (a) {

            // - Force value to a string.
            // - Replace any non numeric characters.
            // - Parse as float to allow 0.02 values.
            return parseFloat(String(a).replace(/[^0-9.-]+/g, ''));

        }));
    } else {

        // Do sort "in place" with sort_by function
        arr.sort(sort_by(prop, reverse, function (a) {

            // - Force value to string.
            return String(a).toUpperCase();

        }));
    }


}

I also worked with some kind of rating and multiple fields sort:

arr = [
    {type:'C', note:834},
    {type:'D', note:732},
    {type:'D', note:008},
    {type:'F', note:474},
    {type:'P', note:283},
    {type:'P', note:165},
    {type:'X', note:173},
    {type:'Z', note:239},
];

arr.sort(function(a,b){        
    var _a = ((a.type==='C')?'0':(a.type==='P')?'1':'2');
    _a += (a.type.localeCompare(b.type)===-1)?'0':'1';
    _a += (a.note>b.note)?'1':'0';
    var _b = ((b.type==='C')?'0':(b.type==='P')?'1':'2');
    _b += (b.type.localeCompare(a.type)===-1)?'0':'1';
    _b += (b.note>a.note)?'1':'0';
    return parseInt(_a) - parseInt(_b);
});

Result

[
    {"type":"C","note":834},
    {"type":"P","note":165},
    {"type":"P","note":283},
    {"type":"D","note":8},
    {"type":"D","note":732},
    {"type":"F","note":474},
    {"type":"X","note":173},
    {"type":"Z","note":239}
]

This is a nice JQuery plug in:

http://plugins.jquery.com/project/sort (Wayback Machine Link)

If you use Underscore.js, try sortBy:

// price is of an integer type
_.sortBy(homes, "price"); 

// price is of a string type
_.sortBy(homes, function(home) {return parseInt(home.price);}); 

You can use the JavaScript sort method with a callback function:

function compareASC(homeA, homeB)
{
    return parseFloat(homeA.price) - parseFloat(homeB.price);
}

function compareDESC(homeA, homeB)
{
    return parseFloat(homeB.price) - parseFloat(homeA.price);
}

// Sort ASC
homes.sort(compareASC);

// Sort DESC
homes.sort(compareDESC);

For sorting a array you must define a comparator function. This function always be different on your desired sorting pattern or order(i.e. ascending or descending).

Let create some functions that sort an array ascending or descending and that contains object or string or numeric values.

function sorterAscending(a,b) {
    return a-b;
}

function sorterDescending(a,b) {
    return b-a;
}

function sorterPriceAsc(a,b) {
    return parseInt(a['price']) - parseInt(b['price']);
}

function sorterPriceDes(a,b) {
    return parseInt(b['price']) - parseInt(b['price']);
}

Sort numbers (alphabetically and ascending):

var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits.sort();

Sort numbers (alphabetically and descending):

var fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits.sort();
fruits.reverse();

Sort numbers (numerically and ascending):

var points = [40,100,1,5,25,10];
points.sort(sorterAscending());

Sort numbers (numerically and descending):

var points = [40,100,1,5,25,10];
points.sort(sorterDescending());

As above use sorterPriceAsc and sorterPriceDes method with your array with desired key.

homes.sort(sorterPriceAsc()) or homes.sort(sorterPriceDes())

While it is a bit of an overkill for just sorting a single array, this prototype function allows to sort Javascript arrays by any key, in ascending or descending order, including nested keys, using dot syntax.

(function(){
    var keyPaths = [];

    var saveKeyPath = function(path) {
        keyPaths.push({
            sign: (path[0] === '+' || path[0] === '-')? parseInt(path.shift()+1) : 1,
            path: path
        });
    };

    var valueOf = function(object, path) {
        var ptr = object;
        for (var i=0,l=path.length; i<l; i++) ptr = ptr[path[i]];
        return ptr;
    };

    var comparer = function(a, b) {
        for (var i = 0, l = keyPaths.length; i < l; i++) {
            aVal = valueOf(a, keyPaths[i].path);
            bVal = valueOf(b, keyPaths[i].path);
            if (aVal > bVal) return keyPaths[i].sign;
            if (aVal < bVal) return -keyPaths[i].sign;
        }
        return 0;
    };

    Array.prototype.sortBy = function() {
        keyPaths = [];
        for (var i=0,l=arguments.length; i<l; i++) {
            switch (typeof(arguments[i])) {
                case "object": saveKeyPath(arguments[i]); break;
                case "string": saveKeyPath(arguments[i].match(/[+-]|[^.]+/g)); break;
            }
        }
        return this.sort(comparer);
    };    
})();

Usage:

var data = [
    { name: { first: 'Josh', last: 'Jones' }, age: 30 },
    { name: { first: 'Carlos', last: 'Jacques' }, age: 19 },
    { name: { first: 'Carlos', last: 'Dante' }, age: 23 },
    { name: { first: 'Tim', last: 'Marley' }, age: 9 },
    { name: { first: 'Courtney', last: 'Smith' }, age: 27 },
    { name: { first: 'Bob', last: 'Smith' }, age: 30 }
]

data.sortBy('age'); // "Tim Marley(9)", "Carlos Jacques(19)", "Carlos Dante(23)", "Courtney Smith(27)", "Josh Jones(30)", "Bob Smith(30)"

Sorting by nested properties with dot-syntax or array-syntax:

data.sortBy('name.first'); // "Bob Smith(30)", "Carlos Dante(23)", "Carlos Jacques(19)", "Courtney Smith(27)", "Josh Jones(30)", "Tim Marley(9)"
data.sortBy(['name', 'first']); // "Bob Smith(30)", "Carlos Dante(23)", "Carlos Jacques(19)", "Courtney Smith(27)", "Josh Jones(30)", "Tim Marley(9)"

Sorting by multiple keys:

data.sortBy('name.first', 'age'); // "Bob Smith(30)", "Carlos Jacques(19)", "Carlos Dante(23)", "Courtney Smith(27)", "Josh Jones(30)", "Tim Marley(9)"
data.sortBy('name.first', '-age'); // "Bob Smith(30)", "Carlos Dante(23)", "Carlos Jacques(19)", "Courtney Smith(27)", "Josh Jones(30)", "Tim Marley(9)"

You can fork the repo: https://github.com/eneko/Array.sortBy

I recently wrote a universal function to manage this for you if you want to use it.

/**
 * Sorts an object into an order
 *
 * @require jQuery
 *
 * @param object Our JSON object to sort
 * @param type Only alphabetical at the moment
 * @param identifier The array or object key to sort by
 * @param order Ascending or Descending
 *
 * @returns Array
 */
function sortItems(object, type, identifier, order){

    var returnedArray = [];
    var emptiesArray = []; // An array for all of our empty cans

    // Convert the given object to an array
    $.each(object, function(key, object){

        // Store all of our empty cans in their own array
        // Store all other objects in our returned array
        object[identifier] == null ? emptiesArray.push(object) : returnedArray.push(object);

    });

    // Sort the array based on the type given
    switch(type){

        case 'alphabetical':

            returnedArray.sort(function(a, b){

                return(a[identifier] == b[identifier]) ? 0 : (

                    // Sort ascending or descending based on order given
                    order == 'asc' ? a[identifier] > b[identifier] : a[identifier] < b[identifier]

                ) ? 1 : -1;

            });

            break;

        default:

    }

    // Return our sorted array along with the empties at the bottom depending on sort order
    return order == 'asc' ? returnedArray.concat(emptiesArray) : emptiesArray.concat(returnedArray);

}

homes.sort(function(a, b){
  var nameA=a.prices.toLowerCase(), nameB=b.prices.toLowerCase()
  if (nameA < nameB) //sort string ascending
    return -1 
  if (nameA > nameB)
    return 1
  return 0 //default return value (no sorting)
})

Hi after reading this article, I made a sortComparator for my needs, with the functionality to compare more than one json attributes, and i want to share it with you.

This solution compares only strings in ascending order, but the solution can be easy extended for each attribute to support: reverse ordering, other data types, to use locale, casting etc

var homes = [{

    "h_id": "3",
    "city": "Dallas",
    "state": "TX",
    "zip": "75201",
    "price": "162500"

}, {

    "h_id": "4",
    "city": "Bevery Hills",
    "state": "CA",
    "zip": "90210",
    "price": "319250"

}, {

    "h_id": "5",
    "city": "New York",
    "state": "NY",
    "zip": "00010",
    "price": "962500"

}];

// comp = array of attributes to sort
// comp = ['attr1', 'attr2', 'attr3', ...]
function sortComparator(a, b, comp) {
    // Compare the values of the first attribute
    if (a[comp[0]] === b[comp[0]]) {
        // if EQ proceed with the next attributes
        if (comp.length > 1) {
            return sortComparator(a, b, comp.slice(1));
        } else {
            // if no more attributes then return EQ
            return 0;
        }
    } else {
        // return less or great
        return (a[comp[0]] < b[comp[0]] ? -1 : 1)
    }
}

// Sort array homes
homes.sort(function(a, b) {
    return sortComparator(a, b, ['state', 'city', 'zip']);
});

// display the array
homes.forEach(function(home) {
    console.log(home.h_id, home.city, home.state, home.zip, home.price);
});

and the result is

$ node sort
4 Bevery Hills CA 90210 319250
5 New York NY 00010 962500
3 Dallas TX 75201 162500

and another sort

homes.sort(function(a, b) {
    return sortComparator(a, b, ['city', 'zip']);
});

with result

$ node sort
4 Bevery Hills CA 90210 319250
3 Dallas TX 75201 162500
5 New York NY 00010 962500