What would be a good way to return the key values in a dictionary in order of highest to lowest.

Question

I have a dictionary of Integers like
var myDictionary = Int: Int ()
myDictionary = [1:0, 2:0, 3:0, 4:0, 5:0]
As the user interacts with the app the values will change.  It's how I am trying to keep track of certain choices the user makes. 
As the user progresses through the app they might end up with a result like:
myDictionary = [1:12, 2:4, 3:9, 4:1, 5:8]
I wan't to display the users progress.
letting them know that
1 is the highest, followed by 3, 5, 3, and last 4.
can use this to find the highest:
var largestReturn = 0
var largestKey = 0
for var a = 0; a < myDictionary.count; a ++ {
     if myDicitonary[a] > largestReturn {
           largestReturn = myDictionary[a]!
           largestKey = a
     }
}
println("The largest number is (largestReturn!) at the key (largestKey)
This return the largest number.  I am trying to figure out a good way to sort the rest.

Hayes McCardell II · Accepted Answer

Here's one idea.
```c#
Create a new dictionary that will store the sorted result.
Create a copy of the unsorted dictionary so you can mess with it without destroying your data.
Iterate through the unsorted copy and find the smallest value.
{
   Store it in your new dictionary.
   Remove that key value pair from your unsorted copy
   Repeat the number of times equal to your original dictionary length
}
Point the unsorted dictionary to point to your new sorted dictionary.
```

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James Lambert

James Lambert

What would be a good way to return the key values in a dictionary in order of highest to lowest.

1 Answer

Hayes McCardell II

Hayes McCardell II