PHP Array Exercises : Sort an associative array by values

Last update on May 30 2022 11:42:14 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

PHP Array: Exercise-34 with Solution

Write a PHP program to sort an associative array (alphanumeric with case-sensitive data) by values.

Sample Solution:

PHP Code:

<?php
$test_array = array(
    0 => 'example1',
    1 => 'Example11',
    2 => 'example10',
    3 => 'Example6',
    4 => 'example4',
    5 => 'EXAMPLE40',
    6 => 'example10'
);
asort($test_array, SORT_STRING | SORT_FLAG_CASE | SORT_NATURAL);
print_r($test_array);
?>

Sample Output:

Array                                                       
(                                                           
    [0] => example1                                         
    [4] => example4                                         
    [3] => Example6                                         
    [2] => example10                                        
    [6] => example10                                        
    [1] => Example11                                        
    [5] => EXAMPLE40                                        
)

Flowchart:

PHP Code Editor:

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Previous: Write a PHP function to search a specified value within the values of an associative array.
Next: Write a PHP script to trim all the elements in an array using array_walk function.

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PHP: Tips of the Day

How to Sort Multi-dimensional Array by Value?

Try a usort, If you are still on PHP 5.2 or earlier, you'll have to define a sorting function first:

Example:

function sortByOrder($a, $b) {
    return $a['order'] - $b['order'];
}

usort($myArray, 'sortByOrder');

Starting in PHP 5.3, you can use an anonymous function:

usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
    return $a['order'] - $b['order'];
});

And finally with PHP 7 you can use the spaceship operator:

usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
    return $a['order'] <=> $b['order'];
});

To extend this to multi-dimensional sorting, reference the second/third sorting elements if the first is zero - best explained below. You can also use this for sorting on sub-elements.

usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
    $retval = $a['order'] <=> $b['order'];
    if ($retval == 0) {
        $retval = $a['suborder'] <=> $b['suborder'];
        if ($retval == 0) {
            $retval = $a['details']['subsuborder'] <=> $b['details']['subsuborder'];
        }
    }
    return $retval;
});

If you need to retain key associations, use uasort() - see comparison of array sorting functions in the manual

Ref : https://bit.ly/3i77vCC