Hello all,

I'm stuck again with php trying to sort an array (Key => Value pairs)!

All I want to do is sort an array naturally (case INsensitive).

Yes, I have tried a million different ways to get natcasesort($arr); to work but it just wont.

Here is the code I currently have:

### Start Code ###

$d = dir($path);
$files = array();
while (false !== ($file = $d->read())) {
if ($file == '.' OR $file == '..') continue;

$arr = array();
$arr['name'] = $file;
$arr['path'] = $d->path . $file;
$arr['size'] = filesize($arr['path']);

//array_change_key_case($arr);
natcasesort($arr);
//for ($i = 0; $i < sizeof($arr); $arr[$i] = strtolower($arr[$i]), $i++);
$files[] = $arr;
//sort($files);

}

foreach($files as $file):
echo htmlentities($file['name']);
endforeach;

### End Code ###

Thanks for your help

Maybe I'm not understanding what you're trying to do, but PHP has just about every array sorting function you could ever possibly want.

Maybe if you could show me what some example data looks like, and what it should look like after it has been sorted, I can show you how to best go about doing that.

Thanks Kethinov,

I am trying to list all the files in a specified directory and get them to be sorted alphabetically, ignoring case. For example, the filename Me2.txt would come BEFORE me10.txt.

Currently the array looks like this:

Array ( [0] => Array ( [path] => <pathtofilename> [size] => <size> [name] => <filename> ) ) Array ( [0] => Array ( [path] => <pathtofilename> [size] => <size> [name] => <filename> ) [1] => Array ( [path] => <pathtofilename> [size] => <size> [name] => <filename> ) ) etc............


it is supposed to sort like the example above (the filename Me2.txt would come BEFORE me10.txt).

But it doesn't sort properly. If I had a list of Aa,aA,B2,B10,C1,C2 it sorts like this:
C2
B10
aA
Aa
B2
C1

D'OH!!1

if i get u right there is a logical mistake in your code. while u read the directory u have to put the name of each file into an array. When youre done u can sort the array.
Right now youre sorting while still reading the directory. this cannot work.

btw file10 comes before file2 in ascii-"alphabet" as ascii cannot count.

First I'd suggest that you start off with a simple array. Just try and sort an array of the file names.

This may then help you to move forward:

But the php natural sort algorithm tries to take that into account. See Natural sorting

But the php natural sort algorithm tries to take that into account. See Natural sorting

didnt know that - thanks

J-Ray:

Even if I put the natcasesort function after the array has finished reading, it doesn't make a difference to the result.

Graemef:

The array sorting test code works as it should. But I am using $key => $value pairs in my array. Should this make any difference in how I approach sorting the array?

For example, could the natcasesort function be lost as to what to sort the array by?

Thanks for your help.

I'm not certain what you are holding but could you get the files sort them and then copy into another array, collecting the other information as you go?

Sorry J-Ray, I got it wrong.

After putting the natcasesort after the array finished reading, it truly randomised the results. Nothing is in any kind of order it seems.

WOOOT! I did it!

I eventually (after much testing of how multi-dimensional arrays work) got this code:


### Start Code ###


// Get files in directory
$d = dir($path);
$files = array();
while (false !== ($file = $d->read())) {
if ($file == '.' OR $file == '..') continue;

$arr = array();
$arr['name'] = $file;
$arr['path'] = $d->path . $file;
$arr['size'] = filesize($arr['path']);

$files[] = $arr;

}


foreach ($files as $array_index => $array_data) {
$array_names[] = $array_data['name'];
}
$array_names = array_map('strtolower', $array_names);
array_multisort($array_names, SORT_ASC, $files);

foreach($files as $file):
echo htmlentities($file['name']);
endforeach;

### End Code ###

This code reads a directory and then sorts (case insensetive) the file names and prints them out in a natural order.

I must of missed something but how does it get it into natural order? I was expecting to see natsort or natcasesort somewhere?

foreach ($files as $array_index => $array_data) {
$array_names[] = $array_data['name'];
}
$array_names = array_map('strtolower', $array_names);
array_multisort($array_names, SORT_ASC, $files);

The above lines are the key. These lines make a copy of the array, change it to lowercase, THEN sort it (array_multisort), THEN change it back to uppercase.

This is the only solution I have been able to find and CONFIRM that works with multi-dimensional arrays.

But it does not put it into natural order?

Try the following, first your code, then my attempt.

Sorry, no, it doesn't sort by natural order as such. But it does mean that lowercase/uppercase filenames are treated as the same.