Sorting names in alphabetical order is a common task in programming. PHP provides several functions and methods to achieve this.
Examples:
Input: arr = ["Sourabh", "Anoop, "Harsh", "Alok", "Tanuj"]
Output: ["Alok", "Anoop", "Harsh", "Sourabh", "Tanuj"]
Input: arr = ["John", "Alice", "Bob", "Eve", "Charlie"] Output: ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie", "Eve", "John"]
Table of Content
Approach 1. Using sort() Function
The sort() function in PHP is used to sort an indexed array in ascending order.
<?php $names = [ "John" , "Alice" , "Bob" , "Eve" , "Charlie" ];
sort( $names );
print_r( $names );
?> |
Array ( [0] => Alice [1] => Bob [2] => Charlie [3] => Eve [4] => John )
Approach 2: Using asort() Function for Associative Arrays
If you have an associative array with keys and values, you can use asort() to sort the array by values while maintaining the key-value association.
<?php $names = [
"John" => 30,
"Alice" => 25,
"Bob" => 35,
"Eve" => 28,
"Charlie" => 40
]; asort( $names );
print_r( $names );
?> |
Array ( [Alice] => 25 [Eve] => 28 [John] => 30 [Bob] => 35 [Charlie] => 40 )
Approach 3: Using natsort() Function for Natural Sorting
If you have names with numbers, and you want a more natural order, you can use natsort() function.
<?php $names = [
"John" => 30,
"Alice" => 25,
"Bob" => 35,
"Eve" => 28,
"Charlie" => 40
]; natsort( $names );
print_r( $names );
?> |
Array ( [Alice] => 25 [Eve] => 28 [John] => 30 [Bob] => 35 [Charlie] => 40 )
Approach 4: Using usort() function for Custom Sorting
For custom sorting, you can use usort() function and provide your own comparison function.
<?php $names = [ "John" , "Alice" , "Bob" , "Eve" , "Charlie" ];
usort( $names , function ( $a , $b ) {
return strcmp ( $a , $b );
}); print_r( $names );
?> |
Array ( [0] => Alice [1] => Bob [2] => Charlie [3] => Eve [4] => John )