PHP how to make sorting

Learn how to sort data in PHP with an easy example. Discover how to use the built-in functions to quickly organize data.

Sorting Arrays in PHP

Arrays are one of the most important data structures in programming, and with PHP it's easy to create and manipulate them. One of the most common tasks is sorting the elements in an array. PHP provides a number of functions for sorting arrays, and this article will discuss them in detail.

The simplest way to sort an array is with the sort() function. This function will take an array as an argument and will sort the elements of the array in ascending order (i.e. from lowest to highest). It's important to note that this function will modify the original array, so if you need the original array intact you should make a copy of it first.

$myArray = [3, 1, 4, 2];
sort($myArray);
echo implode(', ', $myArray); // Outputs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The sort() function is useful for sorting simple arrays of numbers or strings, but it can't handle more complex data structures. To sort a more complex array, we can use the usort() function. This function takes two arguments: an array and a callback function. The callback function should return a negative number if the first argument is less than the second argument, a positive number if the first argument is greater than the second argument, or zero if the two arguments are equal.

$myArray = [
    ['name' => 'John', 'age' => 20],
    ['name' => 'Bob', 'age' => 25],
    ['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 22],
];

usort($myArray, function($a, $b) {
    return $a['age'] - $b['age'];
});

echo implode(', ', array_column($myArray, 'name'));
// Outputs: John, Alice, Bob

The usort() function is very powerful and can be used to sort arrays of any complexity. However, if you only need to sort a simple array of numbers, it's usually more efficient to use the sort() function instead.

Finally, if you need to sort an array in descending order (i.e. from highest to lowest), then you can use the rsort() function. This function works in exactly the same way as sort(), but it will sort the elements in descending order instead.

$myArray = [3, 1, 4, 2];
rsort($myArray);
echo implode(', ', $myArray); // Outputs: 4, 3, 2, 1

In summary, PHP provides a number of functions for sorting arrays. The sort() function is the most basic, and it can be used to sort simple arrays of numbers or strings. The usort() function can be used to sort more complex data structures, and the rsort() function can be used to sort arrays in descending order.