<HEAD> <TITLE> sort_array - sort an array </TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BACKGROUND=http://www.imaginary.com/~beek/gifs/bg.jpg TEXT=#000000 ALINK=#FFFF00 VLINK=#550000 LINK=#000099> <center> <H1> sort_array - sort an array </H1> </center> <p> <b> array sort_array( array arr, string fun, object ob ); </b> <p> <b> array sort_array( array arr, function f ); </b> <p> <b> array sort_array( array arr, int direction ); </b> <p> The (ob, fun) syntax behaves the same as if (: call_other, ob, fun :) was passed as f. <p> In the first two forms, the returned array is sorted with respect to the comparison function given. The function takes two elements as arguments, and returns -1 if if first argument is less than the second, 0 if they are the same, or 1 if the first argument is greater than the second. <p> The third form returns an array with the same elements as 'arr', but quicksorted using built-in sort routines. A 'direction' of 1 or 0 will quicksort in ascending order, while a 'direction' of -1 will quicksort in descending order. A limitation of the built-in sort routines is that the array must be homogeneous, composed entirely of a single type, where that type is string, int, or float. Arrays of arrays are sorted by sorting based on the first element, making database sorts possible. <p> See also: <A HREF=../strings/strcmp.html> strcmp </A>