CIS 119 Array and sorting demo III

Example

Note: This sort will sort numerically if all of the data is numeric. If the data is not all numbers, then the sort will sort alphabetically. Buttons are provided for both an ascending and descending sort.

Field 0:
Field 1:
Field 2:
Field 3:
Field 4:
Field 5:
Field 6:
Field 7:
Field 8:
Field 9:

The JavaScript code

function numericCompare(a, b) { return a - b; }

// Sorts numerically if all elements are numbers
// Otherwise it sorts alphabetically
function sortme(ascending) {
   var numsort = true;
   var fields = document.getElementsByTagName("input");
   var ar = new Array();
   for (var i=0; i<fields.length; i++) {
      var x = parseFloat(fields[i].value);
      if (isNaN(x)) numsort = false;
      ar.push(fields[i].value);
   }
   
   // First do ascending sort
   if (numsort) ar.sort(numericCompare);
   else ar.sort();
   
   // Then reverse order if needed
   if (!ascending) ar.reverse();
   
   for (var i=0; i<fields.length; i++) fields[i].value = ar[i];
   return false;
}

window.onload = function() {
    document.getElementById('btnSortUp').onclick = function() { sortme(true); }
    document.getElementById('btnSortDown').onclick = function() { sortme(false); }
};