Sort Swift Array of Dictionaries by Value of a Key

Question

I am attempting to sort a Swift array which is composed of dictionaries. I have prepared a working example below. The goal is to sort the entire array by the \"d\" element in t

Answer 1

In Swift

let mySortedArray = myArray.sorted(by: {(int1, int2)  -> Bool in
    return ((int1 as! NSDictionary).value(forKey: "d") as! Int) < ((int2 as! NSDictionary).value(forKey: "d") as! Int) // It sorted the values and return to the mySortedArray
  }) 

print(mySortedArray)
    
myArray.removeAllObjects() // Remove all objects and reuse it
    
myArray.addObjects(from: mySortedArray)
    
print(mySortedArray)

it is easy to arrange the array of dictionary value in ascending order. It doesn't need any loops.

Answer 2

To declare, if you need to keep it as AnyObject, you have to explicitly cast:

var myArray = Array<AnyObject>()
var dict = Dictionary<String, AnyObject>()

dict["a"] = ("hickory" as! AnyObject)
dict["b"] = ("dickory" as! AnyObject)
dict["c"] = ("dock" as! AnyObject)
dict["d"] = (6 as! AnyObject)

myArray.append(dict as! AnyObject)

dict["a"] = ("three" as! AnyObject)
dict["b"] = ("blind" as! AnyObject)
dict["c"] = ("mice" as! AnyObject)
dict["d"] = (5 as! AnyObject)


myArray.append(dict as! AnyObject)

dict["a"] = ("larry" as! AnyObject)
dict["b"] = ("moe" as! AnyObject)
dict["c"] = ("curly" as! AnyObject)
dict["d"] = (4 as! AnyObject)

myArray.append(dict as! AnyObject)

Without appending, you can do it like this:

var myArray: [AnyObject] = [ ([
    "a" : ("hickory" as! AnyObject),
    "b" : ("dickory" as! AnyObject),
    "c" : ("dock" as! AnyObject),
    "d" : (6 as! AnyObject)
  ] as! AnyObject), ([
    "a" : ("three" as! AnyObject),
    "b" : ("blind" as! AnyObject),
    "c" : ("mice" as! AnyObject),
    "d" : (5 as! AnyObject)
  ] as! AnyObject), ([
    "a" : ("larry" as! AnyObject),
    "b" : ("moe" as! AnyObject),
    "c" : ("curly" as! AnyObject),
    "d" : (4 as! AnyObject)
  ] as! AnyObject)
]

Which gives you the same result. Although, if only the value object in the dictionary needs to change, you don't need to cast the elements of the array:

var myArray: [Dictionary<String, AnyObject>] = [[
    "a" : ("hickory" as! AnyObject),
    "b" : ("dickory" as! AnyObject),
    "c" : ("dock" as! AnyObject),
    "d" : (6 as! AnyObject)
  ], [
    "a" : ("three" as! AnyObject),
    "b" : ("blind" as! AnyObject),
    "c" : ("mice" as! AnyObject),
    "d" : (5 as! AnyObject)
  ], [
    "a" : ("larry" as! AnyObject),
    "b" : ("moe" as! AnyObject),
    "c" : ("curly" as! AnyObject),
    "d" : (4 as! AnyObject)
  ]
]

Then, to sort, you use the sort() closure, which sorts an Array in place. The closure you supply takes two arguments (named $0 and $1), and returns a Bool. The closure should return true if $0 is ordered before $1, or false if it comes after. To do this, you've got to cast an awful lot:

//myArray starts as: [
//  ["d": 6, "b": "dickory", "c": "dock", "a": "hickory"],
//  ["d": 5, "b": "blind", "c": "mice", "a": "three"],
//  ["d": 4, "b": "moe", "c": "curly", "a": "larry"]
//]

myArray.sort{
  (($0 as! Dictionary<String, AnyObject>)["d"] as? Int) < (($1 as! Dictionary<String, AnyObject>)["d"] as? Int)
}

//myArray is now: [
//  ["d": 4, "b": "moe", "c": "curly", "a": "larry"],
//  ["d": 5, "b": "blind", "c": "mice", "a": "three"],
//  ["d": 6, "b": "dickory", "c": "dock", "a": "hickory"]
//]

Answer 3

when we parse the data then we can sort by using NSSortDescriptor

let dataDict1 = responseDict.valueForKey("Data")
self.customerArray = dataDict1!.valueForKey("Customers") as! NSMutableArray

var tempArray = NSMutableArray()
for  index in self.customerArray {
   tempArray.addObject(index.valueForKey("Customer") as! NSMutableDictionary)
}

let descriptor: NSSortDescriptor =  NSSortDescriptor(key: "name", ascending: true, selector: "caseInsensitiveCompare:")
let sortedResults: NSArray = tempArray.sortedArrayUsingDescriptors([descriptor])
self.customerArray = NSMutableArray(array: sortedResults)

Answer 4

edit/update: Xcode 11 • Swift 5

var array: [[String:Any]] = []
var dict: [String: Any] = [:]

dict["a"] = "hickory"
dict["b"] = "dickory"
dict["c"] = "dock"
dict["d"] = 5

array.append(dict)

dict["a"] = "three"
dict["b"] = "blind"
dict["c"] = "mice"
dict["d"] = 6

array.append(dict)

dict["a"] = "larry"
dict["b"] = "moe"
dict["c"] = "curly"
dict["d"] = 2

array.append(dict)

---

let sortedArray = array.sorted { $0["d"] as? Int ?? .zero < $1["d"] as? Int ?? .zero }

print(sortedArray)  // "[[b: moe, a: larry, d: 2, c: curly], [b: dickory, a: hickory, d: 5, c: dock], [b: blind, a: three, d: 6, c: mice]]"

Answer 5

Sort Array of Dictionary in Swift 3 & 4

let sortedResults = (userArray as NSArray).sortedArray(using: [NSSortDescriptor(key: "name", ascending: true)]) as! [[String:AnyObject]]