Javascript natural sort array/object and maintain

Question

I have an array of items as follows in Javascript:

var users = Array();

users[562] = 'testuser3';
users[16] = 'testuser6';
users[834] = 'testuser1';
users[823] = 'testuser4';
users[23] = 'testuser2';
users[917] = 'testuser5';

I need to sort that array to get the following output:

users[834] = 'testuser1';
users[23] = 'testuser2';
users[562] = 'testuser3';
users[823] = 'testuser4';
users[917] = 'testuser5';
users[16] = 'testuser6';

Notice how it is sorted by the value of the array and the value-to-index association is maintained after the array is sorted (that is critical). I have looked for a solution to this, tried making it, but have hit a wall.

By the way, I am aware that this is technically not an array since that would mean the indices are always iterating 0 through n where n+1 is the counting number proceeding n. However you define it, the requirement for the project is still the same. Also, if it makes a difference, I am NOT using jquery.

Answer 1

You can't order arrays like this in Javascript. Your best bet is to make a map for order.

order = new Array();
order[0] = 562;
order[1] = 16;
order[2] = 834;
order[3] = 823;
order[4] = 23;
order[5] = 917;

In this way, you can have any order you want independently of the keys in the original array. To sort your array use a custom sorting function.

order.sort( function(a, b) {
  if ( users[a] < users[b] ) return -1;
  else if ( users[a] > users[b] ) return 1;
  else return 0;
});

for ( var i = 0; i < order.length; i++ ) {
  // users[ order[i] ]
}

[Demo]