[dataArray sortedArrayUsingFunction: sortDataArrayByModifyFileDate context:NULL];
NSInteger sortDataArrayByModifyFileDate(id obj1, id obj2, void *context)
{
NSString* str1 = (NSString*)obj1;
NSString* str2 = (NSString*)obj2;
NSString* dateString1 = [[str1 componentsSeparatedByString:@"$"] objectAtIndex:2];
NSString* dateString2 = [[str2 componentsSeparatedByString:@"$"] objectAtIndex:2];
DLog(@">>>>>str1:%@", dateString1);
DLog(@">>>>str2:%@", dateString2);
return ([dateString2 compare:dateString1]);
}
To sort your array of objects you:
- setup
NSSortDescriptor
- use names of your variables as keys to setup descriptor for sorting plus the selector to be executed on those keys - get the array of descriptors using
NSSortDescriptor
that you've setup - sort your array based on those descriptors
Here are two examples, one using NSDictionary
and NSString/NSNumber
values sorting onNSNumber
, the other one using custom class with sorting on two NSString
fields.
Follow Sorting and Filtering NSArray Objects in Cocoa programming topics to see more examples and explanation.
Example:
This was done on GNUStep it should work the same on Cocoa - the code is exactly the same - I'll try when I sit in front of my Mac:
First example using NSString
and NSNumber
values with sorting on NSNumber
value:
NSString * NAME = @"name";
NSString * ADDRESS = @"address";
NSString * FREQUENCY = @"frequency";
NSString * TYPE = @"type";
NSMutableArray * array = [NSMutableArray array];
NSDictionary * dict;
dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
@"Alehandro", NAME, @"Sydney", ADDRESS,
[NSNumber numberWithInt:100], FREQUENCY,
@"T", TYPE, nil];
[array addObject:dict];
dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
@"Xentro", NAME, @"Melbourne", ADDRESS,
[NSNumber numberWithInt:50], FREQUENCY,
@"X", TYPE, nil];
[array addObject:dict];
dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
@"John", NAME, @"Perth", ADDRESS,
[NSNumber numberWithInt:75],
FREQUENCY, @"A", TYPE, nil];
[array addObject:dict];
dict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
@"Fjord", NAME, @"Brisbane", ADDRESS,
[NSNumber numberWithInt:20], FREQUENCY,
@"B", TYPE, nil];
[array addObject:dict];
Sorting part using descriptors with the Frequency field which is NSNumber
:
NSSortDescriptor * frequencyDescriptor =
[[[NSSortDescriptor alloc] initWithKey:FREQUENCY
ascending:YES] autorelease];
id obj;
NSEnumerator * enumerator = [array objectEnumerator];
while ((obj = [enumerator nextObject])) NSLog(@"%@", obj);
NSArray * descriptors =
[NSArray arrayWithObjects:frequencyDescriptor, nil];
NSArray * sortedArray =
[array sortedArrayUsingDescriptors:descriptors];
NSLog(@"\nSorted ...");
enumerator = [sortedArray objectEnumerator];
while ((obj = [enumerator nextObject])) NSLog(@"%@", obj);
OUTPUT - sorted by Frequency field:
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Sydney; frequency = 100; name = Alehandro; type = T; }
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Melbourne; frequency = 50; name = Xentro; type = X; }
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Perth; frequency = 75; name = John; type = A; }
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Brisbane; frequency = 20; name = Fjord; type = B; }
2009-12-04 x[1]
Sorted ...
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Brisbane; frequency = 20; name = Fjord; type = B; }
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Melbourne; frequency = 50; name = Xentro; type = X; }
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Perth; frequency = 75; name = John; type = A; }
2009-12-04 x[1] {address = Sydney; frequency = 100; name = Alehandro; type = T; }
Second example with custom class and sorting on two NSString
variables.
Array to sort (see class A
at the bottom):
NSMutableArray * array = [NSMutableArray array];
[array addObject:[[A alloc] initWithFirstName:@"Alehandro"
lastName:@"Xentro"
age:[NSNumber numberWithInt:40]]];
[array addObject:[[A alloc] initWithFirstName:@"John"
lastName:@"Smith"
age:[NSNumber numberWithInt:30]]];
[array addObject:[[A alloc] initWithFirstName:@"John"
lastName:@"Smyth"
age:[NSNumber numberWithInt:25]]];
[array addObject:[[A alloc] initWithFirstName:@"Torro"
lastName:@"Ola"
age:[NSNumber numberWithInt:45]]];
[array addObject:[[A alloc] initWithFirstName:@"Alehandro"
lastName:@"Bento"
age:[NSNumber numberWithInt:41]]];
[array addObject:[[A alloc] initWithFirstName:@"Alehandro"
lastName:@"Axel"
age:[NSNumber numberWithInt:41]]];
The sorting part, sort on lastName then firstName:
NSString * LASTNAME = @"lastName";
NSString * FIRSTNAME = @"firstName";
NSSortDescriptor *lastDescriptor =
[[[NSSortDescriptor alloc]
initWithKey:LASTNAME
ascending:YES
selector:@selector(localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare:)] autorelease];
NSSortDescriptor *firstDescriptor =
[[[NSSortDescriptor alloc]
initWithKey:FIRSTNAME
ascending:YES
selector:@selector(localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare:)] autorelease];
NSArray * descriptors =
[NSArray arrayWithObjects:lastDescriptor, firstDescriptor, nil];
NSArray * sortedArray =
[array sortedArrayUsingDescriptors:descriptors];
Print the result:
NSLog(@"\nSorted ...");
enumerator = [sortedArray objectEnumerator];
while ((obj = [enumerator nextObject])) NSLog(@"%@", obj);
Result (before and after sorting):
2009-12-04 00:52:16.637 x[11375] Alehandro, Xentro, age:40
2009-12-04 00:52:16.644 x[11375] John, Smith, age:30
2009-12-04 00:52:16.644 x[11375] John, Smyth, age:25
2009-12-04 00:52:16.644 x[11375] Torro, Ola, age:45
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] Alehandro, Bento, age:41
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] Alehandro, Axel, age:41
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375]
Sorted ...
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] Alehandro, Axel, age:41
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] Alehandro, Bento, age:41
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] Torro, Ola, age:45
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] John, Smith, age:30
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] John, Smyth, age:25
2009-12-04 00:52:16.645 x[11375] Alehandro, Xentro, age:40
Class A
extends NSObject
- nothing special here:
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
@interface A : NSObject
{
NSString * firstName;
NSString * lastName;
NSNumber * age;
}
- (id)initWithFirstName:(NSString*)aFirstName
lastName:(NSString*)aLastName
age:(NSNumber*)anAge;
-(NSString* )description;
+(NSString*)action;
@end
Implementation:
#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#import "A.h"
@implementation A
- (id)init
{
return [self initWithFirstName:@"N/A"
lastName:@"N/A"
age:0];
}
- (id)initWithFirstName:(NSString*)aFirstName
lastName:(NSString*)aLastName
age:(NSNumber*)anAge
{
self = [super init];
if (!self) return nil;
firstName = [aFirstName copy];
lastName = [aLastName copy];
age = [anAge copy];
return self;
}
- (void)dealloc
{
[firstName release];
[lastName release];
[age release];
[super release];
}
- (NSString *) description
{
return [NSString stringWithFormat: @"%@, %@, age:%@",
firstName, lastName, age];
}
@end