Sorting a JSON object in Javascript

Question

I've been looking for a while to sort a JSON object like this

{"results": [
  {
    "layerId": 5,
    "layerName": "Pharmaceutical Entities",
    "attributes": {
      "OBJECTID": "35",
      "FACILITYTYPE": "Pharmacy",
      "FACILITYSUBTYPE": "24 Hr Pharmacy",
      "COMMERCIALNAME_E": "SADD MAARAB PHARMACY",
      },
    "geometryType": "esriGeometryPoint",
   },
  {
    "layerId": 5,
    "layerName": "Pharmaceutical Entities",
    "attributes": {
      "OBJECTID": "1",
      "FACILITYTYPE": "Pharmacy",
      "FACILITYSUBTYPE": "24 Hr Pharmacy",
      "COMMERCIALNAME_E": "GAYATHY HOSPITAL  PHARMACY",

    },
    "geometryType": "esriGeometryPoint",
  },
     {
    "layerId": 5,
    "layerName": "Pharmaceutical Entities",
    "attributes": {
      "OBJECTID": "255",
      "FACILITYTYPE": "Pharmacy",
      "FACILITYSUBTYPE": "24 Hr Pharmacy",
      "COMMERCIALNAME_E": "AL DEWAN PHARMACY",
      },
    "geometryType": "esriGeometryPoint",
   }
]}

alphabetically by value of "COMMERCIALNAME_E" to get

{"results": [
   {
    "layerId": 5,
    "layerName": "Pharmaceutical Entities",
    "attributes": {
      "OBJECTID": "255",
      "FACILITYTYPE": "Pharmacy",
      "FACILITYSUBTYPE": "24 Hr Pharmacy",
      "COMMERCIALNAME_E": "AL DEWAN PHARMACY",
      },
    "geometryType": "esriGeometryPoint",
   },
  {
    "layerId": 5,
    "layerName": "Pharmaceutical Entities",
    "attributes": {
      "OBJECTID": "1",
      "FACILITYTYPE": "Pharmacy",
      "FACILITYSUBTYPE": "24 Hr Pharmacy",
      "COMMERCIALNAME_E": "GAYATHY HOSPITAL  PHARMACY",
       },
    "geometryType": "esriGeometryPoint",
   },
   {
    "layerId": 5,
    "layerName": "Pharmaceutical Entities",
    "attributes": {
      "OBJECTID": "35",
      "FACILITYTYPE": "Pharmacy",
      "FACILITYSUBTYPE": "24 Hr Pharmacy",
      "COMMERCIALNAME_E": "SADD MAARAB PHARMACY",
      },
    "geometryType": "esriGeometryPoint",
   }
]}

I can't find any code that will do this. Can anyone give me some help?

Professor Abronsius · Accepted Answer · 2017-11-01 07:08:27Z

42

function sortJsonArrayByProperty(objArray, prop, direction){
    if (arguments.length<2) throw new Error("sortJsonArrayByProp requires 2 arguments");
    var direct = arguments.length>2 ? arguments[2] : 1; //Default to ascending

    if (objArray && objArray.constructor===Array){
        var propPath = (prop.constructor===Array) ? prop : prop.split(".");
        objArray.sort(function(a,b){
            for (var p in propPath){
                if (a[propPath[p]] && b[propPath[p]]){
                    a = a[propPath[p]];
                    b = b[propPath[p]];
                }
            }
            // convert numeric strings to integers
            a = a.match(/^\d+$/) ? +a : a;
            b = b.match(/^\d+$/) ? +b : b;
            return ( (a < b) ? -1*direct : ((a > b) ? 1*direct : 0) );
        });
    }
}

sortJsonArrayByProperty(results, 'attributes.OBJECTID');
sortJsonArrayByProperty(results, 'attributes.OBJECTID', -1);

UPDATED: DON'T MUTATE

function sortByProperty(objArray, prop, direction){
    if (arguments.length<2) throw new Error("ARRAY, AND OBJECT PROPERTY MINIMUM ARGUMENTS, OPTIONAL DIRECTION");
    if (!Array.isArray(objArray)) throw new Error("FIRST ARGUMENT NOT AN ARRAY");
    const clone = objArray.slice(0);
    const direct = arguments.length>2 ? arguments[2] : 1; //Default to ascending
    const propPath = (prop.constructor===Array) ? prop : prop.split(".");
    clone.sort(function(a,b){
        for (let p in propPath){
                if (a[propPath[p]] && b[propPath[p]]){
                    a = a[propPath[p]];
                    b = b[propPath[p]];
                }
        }
        // convert numeric strings to integers
        a = a.match(/^\d+$/) ? +a : a;
        b = b.match(/^\d+$/) ? +b : b;
        return ( (a < b) ? -1*direct : ((a > b) ? 1*direct : 0) );
    });
    return clone;
}

const resultsByObjectId = sortByProperty(results, 'attributes.OBJECTID');
const resultsByObjectIdDescending = sortByProperty(results, 'attributes.OBJECTID', -1);

edited Nov 1, 2017 at 7:08

Professor Abronsius

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answered Jan 15, 2011 at 4:57

PDA

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4 Comments

Daniel Apps Over a year ago

Yes, there is no "easy" solution for sorting json. But ther IS a solution... You are so goood.

PDA Over a year ago

thanks updated, for testable code, harness power of functional programming I no longer mutate args in my functions.

user2051552 Over a year ago

Of note, a.match returns a failure if the property is already an integer

user1853517 Over a year ago

FYI, you never use direction parameter.

Mehdi pwn · Accepted Answer · 2021-09-26 14:21:37Z

11

First extract the JSON encoded data:

var data = JSON.parse(yourJSONString);
var results = data['results'];

Then sort with a custom(user) function:

results.sort(function(a,b){
    //return a.attributes.OBJECTID - b.attributes.OBJECTID;
    if(a.attributes.OBJECTID == b.attributes.OBJECTID)
        return 0;
    if(a.attributes.OBJECTID < b.attributes.OBJECTID)
        return -1;
    if(a.attributes.OBJECTID > b.attributes.OBJECTID)
        return 1;
});

I assumed you wanted to sort by OBJECTID, but you can change it to sort by anything.

edited Sep 26, 2021 at 14:21

Mehdi pwn

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answered Nov 19, 2010 at 6:46

Alin P.

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2 Comments

customcommander Over a year ago

Why eval when you can JSON.parse?

Alin P. Over a year ago

@customcommander Most probably because this answer is from 10 years ago and JSON.parse did not have full browser support back then. Feel free to edit answers that you think are outdated.

lincolnk · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-19 06:53:09Z

you can sort an ordered array of anything by providing a custom compare function as a parameter to Array.Sort().

var myObject = /* json object from string */ ;

myObject.results.sort(function (a, b) {

    // a and b will be two instances of your object from your list

    // possible return values
    var a1st = -1; // negative value means left item should appear first
    var b1st =  1; // positive value means right item should appear first
    var equal = 0; // zero means objects are equal

    // compare your object's property values and determine their order
    if (b.attributes.COMMERCIALNAME_E < a.attributes.COMMERCIALNAME_E) {
        return b1st;
    }
    else if (a.attributes.COMMERCIALNAME_E < b.attributes.COMMERCIALNAME_E) {
        return a1st;
    }
    else {
        return equal;
    }
});

Irteza Asad · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-13 04:31:49Z

4

you can easily do it with array.sort()

[
    { name: "Robin Van Persie", age: 28 },
    { name: "Theo Walcott", age: 22 },
    { name: "Bacary Sagna", age: 26  }
].sort(function(obj1, obj2) {
    // Ascending: first age less than the previous
    return obj1.age - obj2.age;
});
// Returns:  
// [
//    { name: "Theo Walcott", age: 22 },
//    { name: "Bacary Sagna", age: 26  },
//    { name: "Robin Van Persie", age: 28 }
// ]

example is taken from here, learn more about it from here

answered Aug 13, 2018 at 4:31

Irteza Asad

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Comments

Hamish · Accepted Answer · 2010-11-19 06:40:46Z

2

You cannot sort a JSON string.. JSON is an Object Notation for data transport - ie, a string. You will have to evaluate it as an object literal (e.g. with eval) and make any changes you want before reserializing it.

answered Nov 19, 2010 at 6:40

Hamish

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Comments

abhishek kumar · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-24 09:24:46Z

-3

Extract the JSON from the String

var data = eval(given_JSON_string);
var results = data['results'];

Sort by passing a custom function to sort method

results.sort(customfunction);

custom function can be defined as

function customfunction(a, b) {

return a.attributes.COMMERCIALNAME_E < b.attributes.COMMERCIALNAME_E ? 1 : -1;

}

answered Dec 24, 2015 at 9:24

abhishek kumar

75 bronze badges

1 Comment

customcommander Over a year ago

Why eval when you can JSON.parse?

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