Sort An Array PHP (With Example Programs)

November 22, 2023October 3, 2022 by Prince Ly Cesar

What Is Sort An Array PHP?

Sorting means putting information in alphabetical or numerical order, or in a way that shows an increasing or decreasing relationship between the pieces of information.

Sorting makes searching much more effective.

Sort An Array in PHP – Function Attributes

In our last lesson, we learned the basics of PHP arrays, such as what arrays are, how to create them, how to see their structure, how to get to their elements, etc.

Arrays let you do even more, like putting the elements in any order you want.

PHP has a number of built-in functions for sorting array elements in different ways, such as by alphabet, by number in ascending or descending order, and so on.

Here, we’ll look at some of the most common functions used to sort arrays.

The following Sorting function attributes below are based on the PHP official manual documentation:

Function name	Sorts by	Maintains key association	Order of sort
`array_multisort()`	value	string keys yes, int keys no	first array or sort options
`asort()`	value	yes	ascending
`arsort()`	value	yes	descending
`krsort()`	key	yes	descending
`ksort()`	key	yes	ascending
`natcasesort()`	value	yes	natural, case insensitive
`natsort()`	value	yes	natural
`rsort()`	value	no	descending
`shuffle()`	value	no	random
`sort()`	value	no	ascending
`uasort()`	value	yes	user-defined
`uksort()`	key	yes	user-defined
`usort()`	value	no	user-defined

Sorting function attributes

Sorting Indexed Arrays in Ascending Order
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Using the sort() function, an indexed array can be sorted into ascending order (alphabetically for letters and numerically for numbers).

Example 1:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $car_manufacturer = array("Honda", "Volkswagen", "Chevrolet", "Toyota", "Hyundai");
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    sort($car_manufacturer);
    print_r($car_manufacturer);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

According to the code above, the <pre> tag is used to read the array conveniently and neatly.

Without the <pre> tag, the outcome is a one-line array that is difficult to understand and messy.

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [0] => Chevrolet
    [1] => Honda
    [2] => Hyundai
    [3] => Toyota
    [4] => Volkswagen
)

Similarly, you can sort the array’s numerical elements in ascending order.

Example 2:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $numbers = array(6, 35, 88, 2, 67, 76);
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    sort($numbers);
    print_r($numbers);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [0] => 2
    [1] => 6
    [2] => 35
    [3] => 67
    [4] => 76
    [5] => 88
)

Sorting Indexed Arrays In Descending Order

Using the rsort() function, an indexed array can be sorted into descending order (alphabetically for letters and numerically for numbers).

Example 1:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $car_manufacturer = array("Honda", "Volkswagen", "Chevrolet", "Toyota", "Hyundai");
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    rsort($car_manufacturer);
    print_r($car_manufacturer);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [0] => Volkswagen
    [1] => Toyota
    [2] => Hyundai
    [3] => Honda
    [4] => Chevrolet
)

Similarly, you can sort the array’s numerical elements in descending order.

Example 2:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $numbers = array(6, 35, 88, 2, 67, 76);
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    rsort($numbers);
    print_r($numbers);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [0] => 88
    [1] => 76
    [2] => 67
    [3] => 35
    [4] => 6
    [5] => 2
)

Sorting Associative Arrays In Ascending Order By Value

According to their value, the asort() function sorts the elements of an associative array in ascending order.

It operates identically to sort(), but keeps the association between keys and their values.

Example 1:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $salary = array("Bebot"=>50000, "John"=>45000, "Gabriel"=>47000, "Ludwig"=>52000);
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    asort($salary);
    print_r($salary);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [John] => 45000
    [Gabriel] => 47000
    [Bebot] => 50000
    [Ludwig] => 52000
)

Similarly, you can sort the numerical elements of an array in ascending order.

Example 2:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $id_info = array(19951214=>"Prince", 19960106=>"Grace", 19980823=>"Nymheria", 19921116=>"Ludylim");
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    asort($id_info);
    print_r($id_info);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [19960106] => Grace
    [19921116] => Ludylim
    [19980823] => Nymheria
    [19951214] => Prince
)

Sorting Associative Arrays In Descending Order By Value

The arsort() function sorts the values of the elements in an associative array so that they go from highest to lowest.

It works the same way as rsort() but keeps the link between the keys and their values while sorting.

Example 1:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $salary = array("Bebot"=>50000, "John"=>45000, "Gabriel"=>47000, "Ludwig"=>52000);
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    arsort($salary);
    print_r($salary);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [Ludwig] => 52000
    [Bebot] => 50000
    [Gabriel] => 47000
    [John] => 45000
)

Similarly, you can sort the numerical elements of an array in descending order.

Example 2:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $id_info = array(19951214=>"Prince", 19960106=>"Grace", 19980823=>"Nymheria", 19921116=>"Ludylim");
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    arsort($id_info);
    print_r($id_info);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [19951214] => Prince
    [19980823] => Nymheria
    [19921116] => Ludylim
    [19960106] => Grace
)

Sorting Associative Arrays In Ascending Order By Key

The ksort() function sorts the keys of the elements in an associative array so that they are in ascending order.

It works the same as the asort() function in that it keeps the link between the keys and their values while sorting.

Example 1:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $salary = array("Bebot"=>50000, "John"=>45000, "Gabriel"=>47000, "Ludwig"=>52000);
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    ksort($salary);
    print_r($salary);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [Bebot] => 50000
    [Gabriel] => 47000
    [John] => 45000
    [Ludwig] => 52000
)

Similarly, you can sort the numerical elements of an array in ascending order.

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $id_info = array(19951214=>"Prince", 19960106=>"Grace", 19980823=>"Nymheria", 19921116=>"Ludylim");
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    ksort($id_info);
    print_r($id_info);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [19921116] => Ludylim
    [19951214] => Prince
    [19960106] => Grace
    [19980823] => Nymheria
)

Sorting Associative Arrays In Descending Order By Key

The krsort() function sorts the keys of the elements in an associative array so that they are in decreasing order.

It works the same as the arsort() function in that it keeps the link between keys and their values while sorting.

Example 1:

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $salary = array("Bebot"=>50000, "John"=>45000, "Gabriel"=>47000, "Ludwig"=>52000);
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    krsort($salary);
    print_r($salary);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function is as follows:

Array
(
    [Ludwig] => 52000
    [John] => 45000
    [Gabriel] => 47000
    [Bebot] => 50000
)

Similarly, you can sort the numerical elements of an array in descending order.

<?php
    // <pre> is used to have new line in array
    echo("<pre>");

    // Defining an array
    $id_info = array(19951214=>"Prince", 19960106=>"Grace", 19980823=>"Nymheria", 19921116=>"Ludylim");
 
    // Sorting an array and printing it
    krsort($id_info);
    print_r($id_info);

    echo("</pre>");
?>

The results of using the print_r() function are as follows:

Array
(
    [19980823] => Nymheria
    [19960106] => Grace
    [19951214] => Prince
    [19921116] => Ludylim
)

Array Push PHP (With Detailed Explanation)

Summary

In summary, we learned how to sort an array in PHP using example programs that helped us understand the different functions.

If you want to learn more about sort an array in PHP, please leave a comment below. We’ll be happy to hear it!

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