PHP natsort() Function
Topic: PHP Array ReferencePrev|Next
Description
The natsort() function sorts an array using a "natural order" algorithm.
The keys are preserved, i.e. the key-to-value mapping will remain unchanged by the sort operation.
The following table summarizes the technical details of this function.
| Return Value: | Returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure. |
|---|---|
| Changelog: | Since PHP 5.2.10+, zero padded numeric strings (e.g., '00004') now ignore the 0 padding. |
| Version: | PHP 4+ |
Syntax
The basic syntax of the natsort() function is given with:
The following example shows the natsort() function in action.
Example
Run this code »<?php
// Sample array
$images = array("img5.png", "img10.png", "img2.png", "img1.png");
// Standard sorting
sort($images);
print_r($images);
// Natural order sorting
natsort($images);
print_r($images);
?>Tip: The natsort() function implements a sort algorithm that orders the alphanumeric strings in the way a human being would. This is described as a "natural ordering".
Parameters
The natsort() function accepts the following parameters.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| array | Required. Specifies the array to be sorted. |
More Examples
Here're some more examples showing how natsort() function actually works:
The following example shows how negative numeric strings will be sorted in natural ordering.
Example
Run this code »<?php
// Sample array
$array = array("-5", "10", "-2", "0", "-10", "8", "1");
// Standard sorting
sort($array);
print_r($array);
// Natural order sorting
natsort($array);
print_r($array);
?>The following example shows how zero padded numeric strings will be sorted in natural ordering.
Example
Run this code »<?php
// Sample array
$array = array("07", "8", "10", "007", "09", "011", "0");
// Standard sorting
sort($array);
print_r($array);
// Natural order sorting
natsort($array);
print_r($array);
?>
