Compare strings containing a mix of letters and numbers in the way a human being would in sort order. This is described as a "natural ordering".
Standard sorting: Natural order sorting:
img1.png img1.png
img10.png img2.png
img12.png img10.png
img2.png img12.png
String.naturalCompare returns a number indicating whether a reference string comes before or after or is the same as the given string in sort order. Use it with builtin sort() function.
Installation
In browser
<script src=min.natural-compare.js></script>
In node.js: npm install natural-compare-lite
require("natural-compare-lite")
Usage
// Simple case sensitive example
var a = ["z1.doc", "z10.doc", "z17.doc", "z2.doc", "z23.doc", "z3.doc"];
a.sort(String.naturalCompare);
// ["z1.doc", "z2.doc", "z3.doc", "z10.doc", "z17.doc", "z23.doc"]
// Use wrapper function for case insensitivity
a.sort(function(a, b){
return String.naturalCompare(a.toLowerCase(), b.toLowerCase());
})
// In most cases we want to sort an array of objects
var a = [ {"street":"350 5th Ave", "room":"A-1021"}
, {"street":"350 5th Ave", "room":"A-21046-b"} ];
// sort by street, then by room
a.sort(function(a, b){
return String.naturalCompare(a.street, b.street) || String.naturalCompare(a.room, b.room);
})
// When text transformation is needed (eg toLowerCase()),
// it is best for performance to keep
// transformed key in that object.
// There are no need to do text transformation
// on each comparision when sorting.
var a = [ {"make":"Audi", "model":"A6"}
, {"make":"Kia", "model":"Rio"} ];
// sort by make, then by model
a.map(function(car){
car.sort_key = (car.make + " " + car.model).toLowerCase();
})
a.sort(function(a, b){
return String.naturalCompare(a.sort_key, b.sort_key);
})
Works well with dates in ISO format eg "Rev 2012-07-26.doc".
Custom alphabet
It is possible to configure a custom alphabet to achieve a desired order.
