How to sort an array of associative arrays by value of a given key in PHP?

Question

Given this array:

$inventory = array(

   array(\"type\"=>\"fruit\", \"price\"=>3.50),
   array(\"type\"=>\"milk\", \"price\"=>2.90),
   array(\"         


        

Answer 1

For PHP 7 and later versions.

/**
 * A method for sorting associative arrays by a key and a direction.
 * Direction can be ASC or DESC.
 *
 * @param $array
 * @param $key
 * @param $direction
 * @return mixed $array
 */
function sortAssociativeArrayByKey($array, $key, $direction){

    switch ($direction){
        case "ASC":
            usort($array, function ($first, $second) use ($key) {
                return $first[$key] <=> $second[$key];
            });
            break;
        case "DESC":
            usort($array, function ($first, $second) use ($key) {
                return $second[$key] <=> $first[$key];
            });
            break;
        default:
            break;
    }

    return $array;
}

Usage:

$inventory = sortAssociativeArrayByKey($inventory, "price", "ASC");