Scala sorting Options

Question

If I have a case class like this

case class Foo(bar: Option[String])

why does this work

scala> val l = List(Foo(Some("b")), Foo(Some("a")), Foo(Some("c")))
l: List[Foo] = List(Foo(Some(b)), Foo(Some(a)), Foo(Some(c)))
scala> l.sortBy(_.bar)
res1: List[Foo] = List(Foo(Some(a)), Foo(Some(b)), Foo(Some(c)))

but not this

scala> l.sortWith((x,y) => x.bar > y.bar)
<console>:11: error: value > is not a member of Option[String]
          l.sortWith((x,y) => x.bar > y.bar)

If I want to sort a List of Option[String] in descending order, is it just simpler to use sortBy and then reverse the list?

Rex Kerr · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-15 19:22:55Z

12

It's because sorted but not sortWith takes an implicit parameter of type Ordering, and Ordering knows about options. With sortWith, you're on your own. And with < you're also on your own.

You can access the same machinery in a clunky fashion:

l.sortWith((a,b) => Ordering[Option[String]].gt(a.bar,b.bar))

or get the nicer version with an import (but now you'll be able to compare Options anywhere based on their contents; hopefully that is what you want):

import scala.math.Ordered._
l.sortWith((a,b) => a.bar > b.bar)

The first is such a mouthful that unless you're really pressed for performance, it's easier to just .sorted.reverse.. (And if you are really pressed for performance, you'd probably be better off handling the option logic manually, e.g. a.bar.isEmpty || !b.bar.isEmpty || a.bar.get < b.bar.get.)

If you're going to do multiple sorts, it's hard to beat the second for clarity. For just one test, I'd still probably favor .sorted.reverse.

edited Nov 15, 2013 at 19:22

answered Nov 15, 2013 at 18:29

Rex Kerr

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2 Comments

senia Over a year ago

You could add to your answer solution with import math.Ordered._. In this case l.sortWith((x,y) => x.bar > y.bar) works as expected.

Rex Kerr Over a year ago

@senia - Indeed, that would be a good idea. Not sure why I thought one would want to do it the manual way. Reflexive aversion to extra imports, maybe?

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