Java sort array Example

1. Introduction

Java Arrays.sort() method is a method of the java.util.Arrays class which is used to sort an array passed to it as a parameter either in ascending order or in order of user-defined type.

2. Arrays.sort() method

Table displaying the different overloaded forms of Arrays.sort() method.

3. Arrays.sort() method examples

The following examples show the usage of different forms of the sort() method.

SortDemo.java

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.*;

public class Main{

public static void main(String []args){
        // Our arr contains 8 elements 
        int[] arr = {36,23,32,25,66,79,102,53}; 
  
  
        // sorting the integer array in ascending order.
        Arrays.sort(arr); 
  
        System.out.printf("Sorted Array : \n%s\n\n", 
                          Arrays.toString(arr)); 

       // Sorting the integer array from index 1 to 4 i.e. elements 23,32,25 and 66 only. 
        // only sort subarray {23,32,25,66} 
        
        Arrays.sort(arr,1,5); 
  
        System.out.printf("Sorted Array: \n%s\n\n", Arrays.toString(arr)); 
                          
        
        //We are using Integer array as Collections.reverseOrder() method won't work with primitive types.
        Integer[] arr1 = {36,23,32,25,66,79,102,53}; 
  
        // Sorting  Integer array in descending order 
        Arrays.sort(arr1, Collections.reverseOrder()); 
  
        System.out.printf("Sorted Array : \n%s\n\n", 
                          Arrays.toString(arr1)); 
                          
        
        //
        String arr2[] = {"Hello Everyone!!", 
                        "Let's get it done !", 
                        "Work Done, let's break out."
                       }; 
  
        // Sorts String array in ascending order 
        Arrays.sort(arr2); 
        System.out.printf("Sorted Array: \n%s\n\n", 
                          Arrays.toString(arr2)); 
  
        // Sorts String array in descending order 
        Arrays.sort(arr2, Collections.reverseOrder()); 
  
        System.out.printf("Sorted Array: \n%s\n\n", 
                          Arrays.toString(arr2)); 
    }
}

Output

Sorted Array:                                                                                                                 
[23, 25, 32, 36, 53, 66, 79, 102]                                                                                             
                                                                                                                              
Sorted Array :                                                                                                                
[102, 79, 66, 53, 36, 32, 25, 23]                                                                                             
                                                                                                                              
Sorted Array:                                                                                                                 
[Hello Everyone!!, Let's get it done !, Work Done, let's break out.]                                                          
                                                                                                                              
Sorted Array:                                                                                                                 
[Work Done, let's break out., Let's get it done !, Hello Everyone!!] 

CustomSortDemo.java

// Java program to demonstrate working of Comparator 
// interface 
import java.util.*; 
import java.io.*; 
  
// A class to represent an Employee. 
class Employee 
{ 
    int empid; 
    String name, address; 
  
    // Constructor 
    public Employee(int empid, String name, 
                               String address) 
    { 
        this.empid = empid; 
        this.name = name; 
        this.address = address; 
    } 
  
    // Used to print employee details in main() 
    public String toString() 
    { 
        return this.empid + " " + this.name + 
                           " " + this.address; 
    } 
} 
  
class SortbyEmpId implements Comparator 
{ 
    // Used for sorting in ascending order of 
    // empid 
    public int compare(Employee a, Employee b) 
    { 
        return a.empid - b.empid; 
    } 
} 
  
// Driver class 
class Main 
{ 
    public static void main (String[] args) 
    { 
        Employee [] arr = {new Employee(111, "Ajit", "Washington"), 
                          new Employee(131, "Shammy", "NewYork"), 
                          new Employee(121, "Jyoti", "Bangalore")}; 
  
        System.out.println("Unsorted"); 
        for (int i=0; i<arr.length; i++) 
            System.out.println(arr[i]); 
  
        Arrays.sort(arr, new SortbyEmpId()); 
  
        System.out.println("\nSorted by empid"); 
        for (int i=0; i<arr.length; i++) 
            System.out.println(arr[i]); 
    } 
} 

Unsorted                                                                                                                        
111 Ajit Washington                                                                                                             
131 Shammy NewYork                                                                                                              
121 Jyoti Bangalore                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Sorted by empid                                                                                                                 
111 Ajit Washington                                                                                                             
121 Jyoti Bangalore                                                                                                             
131 Shammy NewYork   

4. Arrays.sort vs Collections.sort

The below table lists the differences between Arrays.sort() method and Collections.sort method.

5. Java sort array – Conclusion

In this tutorial, we saw the different forms of Arrays.sort() with certain examples to demonstrate their usage in different situations. Moreover, we also understood the difference between Arrays.sort() and Collections.sort() method.

6. References

• https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/arrays-sort-in-java-with-examples/
• https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/Arrays.html
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5208133/collections-vs-arrays-regarding-sort

7. Download the source code

This was an example of the Java sort array method.

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