PHP's arsort in JavaScript

Here’s what our current JavaScript equivalent to PHP's arsort looks like.

module.exports = functionarsort (inputArr, sortFlags) {
// discuss at: https://locutus.io/php/arsort/
// original by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
// improved by: Brett Zamir (https://brett-zamir.me)
// improved by: Theriault (https://github.com/Theriault)
// note 1: SORT_STRING (as well as natsort and natcasesort) might also be
// note 1: integrated into all of these functions by adapting the code at
// note 1: https://sourcefrog.net/projects/natsort/natcompare.js
// note 1: The examples are correct, this is a new way
// note 1: Credits to: https://javascript.internet.com/math-related/bubble-sort.html
// note 1: This function deviates from PHP in returning a copy of the array instead
// note 1: of acting by reference and returning true; this was necessary because
// note 1: IE does not allow deleting and re-adding of properties without caching
// note 1: of property position; you can set the ini of "locutus.sortByReference" to true to
// note 1: get the PHP behavior, but use this only if you are in an environment
// note 1: such as Firefox extensions where for-in iteration order is fixed and true
// note 1: property deletion is supported. Note that we intend to implement the PHP
// note 1: behavior by default if IE ever does allow it; only gives shallow copy since
// note 1: is by reference in PHP anyways
// note 1: Since JS objects' keys are always strings, and (the
// note 1: default) SORT_REGULAR flag distinguishes by key type,
// note 1: if the content is a numeric string, we treat the
// note 1: "original type" as numeric.
// example 1: var $data = {d: 'lemon', a: 'orange', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'}
// example 1: arsort($data)
// example 1: var $result = $data
// returns 1: {a: 'orange', d: 'lemon', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'}
// example 2: ini_set('locutus.sortByReference', true)
// example 2: var $data = {d: 'lemon', a: 'orange', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'}
// example 2: arsort($data)
// example 2: var $result = $data
// returns 2: {a: 'orange', d: 'lemon', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'}
// test: skip-1
const i18lgd = require('../i18n/i18n_loc_get_default')
const strnatcmp = require('../strings/strnatcmp')
const valArr = []
let valArrLen = 0
let k
let i
let sorter
let sortByReference = false
const populateArr = {}
const $global = (typeofwindow !== 'undefined' ? window : global)
$global.$locutus = $global.$locutus || {}
const $locutus = $global.$locutus
$locutus.php = $locutus.php || {}
$locutus.php.locales = $locutus.php.locales || {}
switch (sortFlags) {
case'SORT_STRING':
// compare items as strings
sorter = function (a, b) {
return strnatcmp(b, a)
}
break
case'SORT_LOCALE_STRING':
// compare items as strings, based on the current locale
// (set with i18n_loc_set_default() as of PHP6)
var loc = i18lgd()
sorter = $locutus.php.locales[loc].sorting
break
case'SORT_NUMERIC':
// compare items numerically
sorter = function (a, b) {
return (a - b)
}
break
case'SORT_REGULAR':
// compare items normally (don't change types)
break
default:
sorter = function (b, a) {
const aFloat = parseFloat(a)
const bFloat = parseFloat(b)
const aNumeric = aFloat + '' === a
const bNumeric = bFloat + '' === b
if (aNumeric && bNumeric) {
return aFloat > bFloat ? 1 : aFloat < bFloat ? -1 : 0
} elseif (aNumeric && !bNumeric) {
return1
} elseif (!aNumeric && bNumeric) {
return-1
}
return a > b ? 1 : a < b ? -1 : 0
}
break
}
const iniVal = (typeofrequire !== 'undefined' ? require('../info/ini_get')('locutus.sortByReference') : undefined) || 'on'
sortByReference = iniVal === 'on'
// Get key and value arrays
for (k in inputArr) {
if (inputArr.hasOwnProperty(k)) {
valArr.push([k, inputArr[k]])
if (sortByReference) {
delete inputArr[k]
}
}
}
valArr.sort(function (a, b) {
return sorter(a[1], b[1])
})
// Repopulate the old array
for (i = 0, valArrLen = valArr.length; i < valArrLen; i++) {
populateArr[valArr[i][0]] = valArr[i][1]
if (sortByReference) {
inputArr[valArr[i][0]] = valArr[i][1]
}
}
return sortByReference || populateArr
}
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How to use

You you can install via npm install locutus and require it via require('locutus/php/array/arsort'). You could also require the array module in full so that you could access array.arsort instead.

If you intend to target the browser, you can then use a module bundler such as Parcel, webpack, Browserify, or rollup.js. This can be important because Locutus allows modern JavaScript in the source files, meaning it may not work in all browsers without a build/transpile step. Locutus does transpile all functions to ES5 before publishing to npm.

PHP arrays and JavaScript

Please note that Locutus uses JavaScript objects as substitutes for PHP arrays, they are the closest we can get to this hashtable-like data structure without rolling our own. While many JavaScript implementations preserve the order of object properties, the ECMAScript Language Specification explicitly states that:

The mechanics and order of enumerating the properties is not specified.

So don't use this for anything serious if you rely on the order to be consistent accross platforms.

A community effort

Not unlike Wikipedia, Locutus is an ongoing community effort. Our philosophy follows The McDonald’s Theory. This means that we don't consider it to be a bad thing that many of our functions are first iterations, which may still have their fair share of issues. We hope that these flaws will inspire others to come up with better ideas.

This way of working also means that we don't offer any production guarantees, and recommend to use Locutus inspiration and learning purposes only.

Notes

  • SORT_STRING (as well as natsort and natcasesort) might also be integrated into all of these functions by adapting the code at https://sourcefrog.net/projects/natsort/natcompare.js The examples are correct, this is a new way Credits to: https://javascript.internet.com/math-related/bubble-sort.html This function deviates from PHP in returning a copy of the array instead of acting by reference and returning true; this was necessary because IE does not allow deleting and re-adding of properties without caching of property position; you can set the ini of “locutus.sortByReference” to true to get the PHP behavior, but use this only if you are in an environment such as Firefox extensions where for-in iteration order is fixed and true property deletion is supported. Note that we intend to implement the PHP behavior by default if IE ever does allow it; only gives shallow copy since is by reference in PHP anyways Since JS objects’ keys are always strings, and (the default) SORT_REGULAR flag distinguishes by key type, if the content is a numeric string, we treat the “original type” as numeric.

Examples

Please note that these examples are distilled from test cases that automatically verify our functions still work correctly. This could explain some quirky ones.

#codeexpected result
1var $data = {d: 'lemon', a: 'orange', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'} arsort($data) var $result = $data{a: 'orange', d: 'lemon', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'}
2ini_set('locutus.sortByReference', true) var $data = {d: 'lemon', a: 'orange', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'} arsort($data) var $result = $data{a: 'orange', d: 'lemon', b: 'banana', c: 'apple'}

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