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• Array.insensitiveSort in MooTools

  2 Comments Posted on October 9th, 2009          Updated on October 9th, 2009 Tagged in JavaScriptMooTools

  In JavaScript there is a sort function for arrays. Though, the result will take into account the case of each character. Therefore you can have something like the following happen.
  
  var a = ["john", "April", "tim", "Zoe"];

a = a.sort();

// a is now ["April", "Zoe", "john", "tim"]
  Using MooTools you add a method to the Array object which will allow you to sort while being insensitive to case.
  
  Array.implement({
     insensitiveSort: function() {
          var result = [], tmp = [], tmpH = $H();
          this.each(function(val) {
               tmp.push(val.toString().toLowerCase());
               tmpH.include(val, val.toString().toLowerCase());
          });
          tmp = tmp.sort();
          tmp.each(function(val) {
               result.push(tmpH.keyOf(val));
          });
          return result;
      }
});
  Now you can do the following.
  
  var a = ["john", "April", "tim", "Zoe"];

a = a.insensitiveSort();

// a is now ["April", "john", "tim", "Zoe"]

2 Comments

• Jan Oct 10, 2009
  Array.sort has an optional sort function parameter which can be used to simplify this:
  
  http://mooshell.net/vmfQL/
  
• Timothy Oct 11, 2009
  Ah yea that does seem a lot better. Thank you!

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• You Sep 7, 2010
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