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How to sort an array in descending order in Ruby

April 5, 2025

πŸ“‚ Categories: Ruby
🏷 Tags: Sorting
How to sort an array in descending order in Ruby

Sorting arrays is a cardinal cognition successful programming, and Ruby affords elegant and businesslike strategies for reaching this. Whether or not you’re running with numerical information, strings, oregon customized objects, knowing however to kind arrays successful descending command is important for organizing and manipulating information efficaciously. This article volition delve into assorted strategies for sorting arrays successful descending command successful Ruby, offering broad explanations, applicable examples, and champion practices to aid you maestro this indispensable accomplishment.

Utilizing the kind Methodology and Reverse

Ruby’s constructed-successful kind technique gives a simple manner to kind arrays. Mixed with the reverse methodology, you tin easy accomplish descending command. This attack is extremely readable and appropriate for elemental sorting duties.

For illustration:

numbers = [5, 2, eight, 1, 9] sorted_numbers = numbers.kind.reverse places sorted_numbers Output: [9, eight, 5, 2, 1] 

This technique plant as fine with strings and another comparable objects. It’s an fantabulous prime for rookies owed to its simplicity and readability.

Utilizing the sort_by Technique for Analyzable Sorting

For much analyzable sorting eventualities, specified arsenic sorting objects based mostly connected circumstantial attributes oregon utilizing customized examination logic, the sort_by methodology presents better flexibility. This technique permits you to specify a artifact of codification that determines the sorting command.

See an array of hashes representing merchandise:

merchandise = [ { sanction: "Pome", terms: 1 }, { sanction: "Banana", terms: zero.5 }, { sanction: "Orangish", terms: zero.seventy five } ] sorted_products = merchandise.sort_by { |merchandise| -merchandise[:terms] } places sorted_products 

By negating the terms inside the sort_by artifact, we accomplish descending command based mostly connected the merchandise terms. This method is invaluable once dealing with customized objects oregon multi-standards sorting.

Leveraging the Spaceship Function (<=>)

Ruby’s spaceship function (<=>) supplies a concise manner to specify examination logic inside the kind methodology. This function returns -1, zero, oregon 1 relying connected the examination consequence, permitting for businesslike sorting successful both ascending oregon descending command.

Present’s however to kind an array of numbers successful descending command utilizing the spaceship function:

numbers = [5, 2, eight, 1, 9] sorted_numbers = numbers.kind { |a, b| b <=> a } places sorted_numbers Output: [9, eight, 5, 2, 1] 

This attack is peculiarly utile once running with customized examination logic oregon once show is a captious information. Its conciseness and ratio brand it a most well-liked prime for skilled Ruby builders.

Show Concerns and Champion Practices

Once dealing with ample arrays, show turns into a important cause. Ruby’s constructed-successful sorting algorithms are mostly businesslike, however knowing their traits tin aid you brand knowledgeable selections.

  • For elemental sorting, kind.reverse is frequently the about readable and businesslike action.
  • Debar pointless entity instauration inside sorting blocks, arsenic this tin contact show.

By pursuing these champion practices, you tin guarantee that your sorting operations are some effectual and businesslike, equal with ample datasets. See utilizing benchmark instruments to comparison the show of antithetic sorting strategies for your circumstantial usage lawsuit.

Ruby presents a affluent fit of instruments for sorting arrays successful descending command. By knowing the nuances of all methodology and making use of champion practices, you tin effectively form and manipulate information successful your Ruby functions. Whether or not you take the simplicity of kind.reverse, the flexibility of sort_by, oregon the conciseness of the spaceship function, retrieve to prioritize codification readability and show for optimum outcomes. Present you person the cognition to kind efficaciously, empowering you to deal with a broad scope of programming challenges with assurance.

  1. Take the due sorting methodology (kind.reverse, sort_by, oregon spaceship function).
  2. Instrumentality the sorting logic based mostly connected your circumstantial necessities.
  3. Trial your codification totally with assorted enter arrays.

Larn much astir Ruby array manipulation.Featured Snippet: To rapidly kind an array of numbers successful descending command successful Ruby, usage array.kind.reverse. For customized sorting, usage sort_by oregon the spaceship function.

  • Ruby’s kind methodology supplies a elemental manner to kind arrays successful ascending command.
  • The reverse technique tin beryllium chained with kind to accomplish descending command.

FAQ

Q: What is the clip complexity of Ruby’s kind methodology?

A: Ruby’s kind methodology sometimes makes use of a quicksort algorithm, which has an mean clip complexity of O(n log n).

Research these sorting strategies, experimentation with antithetic eventualities, and take the champion acceptable for your wants. Deepen your knowing of Ruby’s sorting capabilities and heighten your information manipulation expertise. Commencement sorting present!

Question & Answer :
I person an array of hashes:

[ { :foo => 'foo', :barroom => 2 }, { :foo => 'foo', :barroom => three }, { :foo => 'foo', :barroom => 5 }, ] 

I americium attempting to kind this array successful descending command in accordance to the worth of :barroom successful all hash.

I americium utilizing sort_by to kind supra array:

a.sort_by { |h| h[:barroom] } 

Nevertheless, this types the array successful ascending command. However bash I brand it kind successful descending command?

1 resolution was to bash pursuing:

a.sort_by { |h| -h[:barroom] } 

However that antagonistic gesture does not look due.

It’s ever enlightening to bash a benchmark connected the assorted prompt solutions. Present’s what I recovered retired:

#!/usr/bin/ruby necessitate 'benchmark' ary = [] a thousand.instances { ary << {:barroom => rand(one thousand)} } n = 500 Benchmark.bm(20) bash |x| x.study("kind") { n.instances { ary.kind{ |a,b| b[:barroom] <=> a[:barroom] } } } x.study("kind reverse") { n.instances { ary.kind{ |a,b| a[:barroom] <=> b[:barroom] }.reverse } } x.study("sort_by -a[:barroom]") { n.instances { ary.sort_by{ |a| -a[:barroom] } } } x.study("sort_by a[:barroom]*-1") { n.occasions { ary.sort_by{ |a| a[:barroom]*-1 } } } x.study("sort_by.reverse!") { n.instances { ary.sort_by{ |a| a[:barroom] }.reverse } } extremity person scheme entire existent kind three.960000 zero.010000 three.970000 ( three.990886) kind reverse four.040000 zero.000000 four.040000 ( four.038849) sort_by -a[:barroom] zero.690000 zero.000000 zero.690000 ( zero.692080) sort_by a[:barroom]*-1 zero.700000 zero.000000 zero.700000 ( zero.699735) sort_by.reverse! zero.650000 zero.000000 zero.650000 ( zero.654447) 

I deliberation it’s absorbing that @Pablo’s sort_by{...}.reverse! is quickest. Earlier moving the trial I idea it would beryllium slower than “-a[:barroom]” however negating the worth turns retired to return longer than it does to reverse the full array successful 1 walk. It’s not overmuch of a quality, however all small velocity-ahead helps.


Delight line that these outcomes are antithetic successful Ruby 1.9

Present are outcomes for Ruby 1.9.3p194 (2012-04-20 revision 35410) [x86_64-darwin10.eight.zero]:

person scheme entire existent kind 1.340000 zero.010000 1.350000 ( 1.346331) kind reverse 1.300000 zero.000000 1.300000 ( 1.310446) sort_by -a[:barroom] zero.430000 zero.000000 zero.430000 ( zero.429606) sort_by a[:barroom]*-1 zero.420000 zero.000000 zero.420000 ( zero.414383) sort_by.reverse! zero.400000 zero.000000 zero.400000 ( zero.401275) 

These are connected an aged MacBook Professional. Newer, oregon quicker machines, volition person less values, however the comparative variations volition stay.


Present’s a spot up to date interpretation connected newer hardware and the 2.1.1 interpretation of Ruby:

#!/usr/bin/ruby necessitate 'benchmark' places "Moving Ruby #{RUBY_VERSION}" ary = [] one thousand.occasions { ary << {:barroom => rand(a thousand)} } n = 500 places "n=#{n}" Benchmark.bm(20) bash |x| x.study("kind") { n.occasions { ary.dup.kind{ |a,b| b[:barroom] <=> a[:barroom] } } } x.study("kind reverse") { n.occasions { ary.dup.kind{ |a,b| a[:barroom] <=> b[:barroom] }.reverse } } x.study("sort_by -a[:barroom]") { n.occasions { ary.dup.sort_by{ |a| -a[:barroom] } } } x.study("sort_by a[:barroom]*-1") { n.occasions { ary.dup.sort_by{ |a| a[:barroom]*-1 } } } x.study("sort_by.reverse") { n.occasions { ary.dup.sort_by{ |a| a[:barroom] }.reverse } } x.study("sort_by.reverse!") { n.instances { ary.dup.sort_by{ |a| a[:barroom] }.reverse! } } extremity # >> Moving Ruby 2.1.1 # >> n=500 # >> person scheme entire existent # >> kind zero.670000 zero.000000 zero.670000 ( zero.667754) # >> kind reverse zero.650000 zero.000000 zero.650000 ( zero.655582) # >> sort_by -a[:barroom] zero.260000 zero.010000 zero.270000 ( zero.255919) # >> sort_by a[:barroom]*-1 zero.250000 zero.000000 zero.250000 ( zero.258924) # >> sort_by.reverse zero.250000 zero.000000 zero.250000 ( zero.245179) # >> sort_by.reverse! zero.240000 zero.000000 zero.240000 ( zero.242340) 

Fresh outcomes moving the supra codification utilizing Ruby 2.2.1 connected a much new Macbook Professional. Once more, the direct numbers aren’t crucial, it’s their relationships:

Moving Ruby 2.2.1 n=500 person scheme entire existent kind zero.650000 zero.000000 zero.650000 ( zero.653191) kind reverse zero.650000 zero.000000 zero.650000 ( zero.648761) sort_by -a[:barroom] zero.240000 zero.010000 zero.250000 ( zero.245193) sort_by a[:barroom]*-1 zero.240000 zero.000000 zero.240000 ( zero.240541) sort_by.reverse zero.230000 zero.000000 zero.230000 ( zero.228571) sort_by.reverse! zero.230000 zero.000000 zero.230000 ( zero.230040) 

Up to date for Ruby 2.7.1 connected a Mid-2015 MacBook Professional:

Moving Ruby 2.7.1 n=500 person scheme entire existent kind zero.494707 zero.003662 zero.498369 ( zero.501064) kind reverse zero.480181 zero.005186 zero.485367 ( zero.487972) sort_by -a[:barroom] zero.121521 zero.003781 zero.125302 ( zero.126557) sort_by a[:barroom]*-1 zero.115097 zero.003931 zero.119028 ( zero.122991) sort_by.reverse zero.110459 zero.003414 zero.113873 ( zero.114443) sort_by.reverse! zero.108997 zero.001631 zero.110628 ( zero.111532) 

…the reverse methodology doesn’t really instrument a reversed array - it returns an enumerator that conscionable begins astatine the extremity and plant backwards.

The origin for Array#reverse is:

static Worth rb_ary_reverse_m(Worth ary) { agelong len = RARRAY_LEN(ary); Worth dup = rb_ary_new2(len); if (len > zero) { const Worth *p1 = RARRAY_CONST_PTR_TRANSIENT(ary); Worth *p2 = (Worth *)RARRAY_CONST_PTR_TRANSIENT(dup) + len - 1; bash *p2-- = *p1++; piece (--len > zero); } ARY_SET_LEN(dup, RARRAY_LEN(ary)); instrument dup; } 

bash *p2-- = *p1++; piece (--len > zero); is copying the pointers to the components successful reverse command if I retrieve my C accurately, truthful the array is reversed.