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JavaScript JavaScript Foundations Arrays Methods: Part 2

geoffrey
geoffrey
28,736 Points
Posted by geoffrey
geoffrey
28,736 Points

sort() method and its function to sort numerically

Hello, there is something I don't get correctly. To sort an array numerically, we need to use sort( ) with a function such as this.

var myTab = [10,58,1,25,12];

myTab.sort(function(a,b){

return a-b

});

I can remember it, that's not the problem, but that's about the way It really works.

I don't get how javascript and the sort() method know how to compare numbers inside the array, just by giving two paramaters which are anonymous.

Is it something built in the sort() method ?

Because honestly, without knowing that kind of function exists, I would on my side do the comparison 'manually', using a loop to compare each value inside the array to each other.

2 Answers

Manuel Palma
Manuel Palma
6,144 Points

It may be useful to look at the method definition and explanation:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/sort