Any way to extend javascript's array.sort() method to accept another parameter?

Question

I'm trying to sort an array of objects. I'd prefer not to write a custom sort method for each attribute.

Is there anyway I could extend the built-in array.sort() method to accept an extra parameter, describing the attribute to sort on? E.g.,

array.sort(function(a, b, attr) { return a.attr - b.attr; }, 'name'); 

Answer 1

Write a function generator that accepts a property name:

function propComparator(prop) {     return function(a, b) {         return a[prop] - b[prop];     } }  arr.sort(propComparator('name')); 

You can also save the sorters for later use, directly, or as parameters:

var compareNames = propComparator('name'); var compareFoos = propComparator('foo'); ... arr.sort(compareNames); takesComparator(compareFoos); 

Updated for ES6, and make it so it actually works with different types.

Note that sort sorts in-place, which may or may not be desirable.

const arr = [    { name: 'John', age: 92 },    { name: 'Dave', age: 42 },    { name: 'Justin', age: 3 }  ]    const propComparator = (propName) =>    (a, b) => a[propName] == b[propName] ? 0 : a[propName] < b[propName] ? -1 : 1    arr.sort(propComparator('name'))  console.log("By name", arr)    arr.sort(propComparator('age'))  console.log("By age", arr)