Sort Array in Java: All You Need to Know

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Published on November 5th, 2022
3 Minutes Read

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Introduction

Java's java. util package contains a method for sorting arrays. class for arrays It can be used to sort an array in either ascending or descending order, as the name implies. You will see arrays. sort() and learn how to use array sort in Java in this tutorial.

What is an Array?

A collection of uniform data can be stored in an array, which is a type of data structure. In other words, all elements stored in an array belong to the same data type. In Java, fields have another function. Arrays are always dynamically allocated in Java to allocate the exact amount of memory needed. This also leads to increased storage efficiency.

What is Sorting?

Sorting is the process of placing various items in a specific order. It frequently entails alphabetical and numerical sorting in either ascending or descending order. There are numerous sorting algorithms to aid us in this process, and each significant sorting algorithm has a specific set of instances where it excels.

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What are Arrays? sort() in Java?

Arrays are a class from java. util package that provides a predefined sort() method. It is a static method that does not return any value. When you call a sorted array in Java, it parses each element of the array and sorts them in ascending or descending order as specified. An array can have various data types, including int, long, char, and float. The general syntax of the Arrays. sort() method is:

public static void sort(int[] ar, int from_index, int to_index)

In the above syntax:

ar: It is short for the array name

from_index: An optional parameter that indicates the index (inclusive) of the element where the sorting starts

to_index: An optional parameter that indicates the (exclusive) index of the element where the sort ends

How to Sort an Array in Java

Arrays can be sorted numerically or lexicographically in ascending or descending order using built-in functions like sort() and reverse order (). You can develop your own methods and use loops like the for loop or others if you want to learn how to sort arrays in Java in other ways. You need to know these basic concepts when learning to sort arrays in Java. Let's see how these methods can be selected based on the type needed.

Sort the array in ascending order with examples

Let's look at examples of how an array can be sorted in ascending order:

Example:- sorting an array in ascending order in Java using the sort() function.

Code:

import java. util.Arrays;

‍

class ascendingUsingSort

{

public static void main(String[] args)

{

‍

// Creating an array of data type double

double [] sampleArray = new double [] {4.5, 5.3, 4.9, 9.8, 2.9, 1.7, 6.5, 7.0};

‍

// Using the sort() method in the class Arrays on sampleArray

Arrays.sort(sampleArray);

System.out.println("Here's the sample array sorted in ascending order: ");

‍

// Printing the sorted sample array using for loop

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for (int i = 0; i < sampleArray.length; i++)

{

System.out.println(sampleArray[i]);

}

‍

}

‍

}

‍

Output:-

Here's the sample array sorted in ascending order:

1.7

2.9

4.5

4.9

5.3

6.5

7.0

9.8

Using For Loops

If you have smaller arrays, you can use them for loops to perform sorting. However, matters become more complicated as the array size increases. You can use two loops, one loop through the array from the beginning, and a second loop, nested inside the outer one, to loop through the next element.

for (initialExpression; testExpression; updateExpression) {

// loop body

}

What is the Difference Between Arrays? sort() and collection.sort()?

The Collections class has a sort() method, just like the Arrays class. But there is a significant distinction between the two approaches. The primitive data formats are supported by the Arrays. sort() method. The Collections. sort() method, on the other hand, supports collections like LinkedList and ArrayList.