How to sort elements of array list in C#

Question

I have an ArrayList that contains,

[0] = "1"
[1] = "10"
[2] = "2"
[3] = "15"
[4] = "17"
[5] = "5"
[6] = "6"
[7] = "27"
[8] = "8"
[9] = "9"

Now i need to sort the array list such that it becomes,

[0] = "1"
[1] = "2"
[2] = "5"
[3] = "6"
[4] = "8"
[5] = "9"
[6] = "10"
[7] = "15"
[8] = "17"
[9] = "27"

At last i will be getting the values from ArrayList and using them as 'int' values. How can i do this? Or shall i convert them to int at first and then sort them.?

Answer 1

If you can be sure the list contains only strings that can be transformed to integers, then with the IEnumerable<T>.OrderBy extension method, try this:

var sortedList = list.OrderBy(item => int.Parse(item));

If you're using an ArrayList instead of a List<string> (boo!), you'll need to Cast first:

var sortedList = list.Cast<string>().OrderBy(item => int.Parse(item));

You can also define your own comparer as JaredPar noted, but IMO that's a lot of work for something that's already implemented. However, it's more efficient.