Sort function in javascript

[rotten69]

Hi there,

why does the sort function not sort out numeric values depending on their values(large to small or small to large)?

var drinks1 = [40,30,10,20,100];

println(drinks1.sort());  // this will give you  10, 100, 20, 30, 40

it sorts those values as follows: 10,100,20,30,40

Is there a way of changing the order that the function works in?

[pritaeas]

sort does a string comparison by default. You can specify a sort function as parameter to the function. The compare function takes two parameters, and should return an number. Negative means the first is smaller than the second, zero means equal, and positive means the second is smaller.

function compare(x, y) {
    return x - y;
}

println(drinks1.sort(compare));

[rotten69]

println(drinks1.sort(compare));

Aren't you supposed to pass parameter values to the compare function?

[munna_001]

drinks1.sort(compare)
in this case compare will be replaced by the function inside it i.e. it will be
drinks1.sort (function compare(x, y) {return x - y;}). this is closure style coding.
for closure explanation, refer - http://www.javascriptkit.com/javatutors/closures.shtml . also to refer how this sort function works refer to http://www.javascriptkit.com/javatutors/arraysort.shtml

[pritaeas]

Aren't you supposed to pass parameter values to the compare function?

No. You only provide the callback function, the sort function then passes the two parameters to that function.