phparrayssortingmultidimensional-array

Sort a 2d array by a column value


How can I sort this array by the value of the "order" key?

Even though the values are currently sequential, they will not always be.

Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [hashtag] => a7e87329b5eab8578f4f1098a152d6f4
            [title] => Flower
            [order] => 3
        )

    [1] => Array
        (
            [hashtag] => b24ce0cd392a5b0b8dedc66c25213594
            [title] => Free
            [order] => 2
        )

    [2] => Array
        (
            [hashtag] => e7d31fc0602fb2ede144d18cdffd816b
            [title] => Ready
            [order] => 1
        )
)

Solution

  • Try a usort. If you are still on PHP 5.2 or earlier, you'll have to define a sorting function first:

    function sortByOrder($a, $b) {
        if ($a['order'] > $b['order']) {
            return 1;
        } elseif ($a['order'] < $b['order']) {
            return -1;
        }
        return 0;
    }
    
    usort($myArray, 'sortByOrder');
    

    Starting in PHP 5.3, you can use an anonymous function:

    usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
        if ($a['order'] > $b['order']) {
            return 1;
        } elseif ($a['order'] < $b['order']) {
            return -1;
        }
        return 0;
    });
    

    With PHP 7 you can use the spaceship operator:

    usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
        return $a['order'] <=> $b['order'];
    });
    

    Finally, in PHP 7.4 you can clean up a bit with an arrow function:

    usort($myArray, fn($a, $b) => $a['order'] <=> $b['order']);
    

    To extend this to multi-dimensional sorting, reference the second/third sorting elements if the first is zero - best explained below. You can also use this for sorting on sub-elements.

    usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
        $retval = $a['order'] <=> $b['order'];
        if ($retval == 0) {
            $retval = $a['suborder'] <=> $b['suborder'];
            if ($retval == 0) {
                $retval = $a['details']['subsuborder'] <=> $b['details']['subsuborder'];
            }
        }
        return $retval;
    });
    

    If you need to retain key associations, use uasort() - see comparison of array sorting functions in the manual.