How to Sort a Multi-dimensional Array by Value

Last Updated : 11 Oct, 2023

What is Sorting?

Arranging data in an increasing or decreasing fashion according to their values is called Sorting.

Below are shown some processes for sorting arrays of several dimensions.

Sorting a 1-Dimensional array:

We can sort any Dimensional array using the sort method in C++.

Syntax:

sort(arr, arr+N)

Where,

arr, represents the name of the array.

arr + N, represents name of the array + size of the array

Time Complexity: O(N * log N)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

Example:-

C++

#include <algorithm> // for std::sort
#include <iostream>
 
const int SIZE = 5;
 
// A comparison function that sorts the array in ascending
// order
bool compare(int a, int b) { return a < b; }
 
int main()
{
    // Initialize the array
    int arr[SIZE] = { 3, 5, 1, 2, 4 };
 
    // Sort the array using the compare function
    std::sort(arr, arr + SIZE, compare);
 
    // Print the sorted array
    for (int i = 0; i < SIZE; i++) {
        std::cout << arr[i] << " ";
    }
 
    return 0;
}
// code by ksam24000

Java

// Java code for the approach 
 
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Comparator;
 
public class GFG {
    // Driver code
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        final int SIZE = 5;
 
        // Initialize the array
        Integer[] arr = new Integer[SIZE];
        arr[0] = 3;
        arr[1] = 5;
        arr[2] = 1;
        arr[3] = 2;
        arr[4] = 4;
 
        // Sort the array using the compare function
        Arrays.sort(arr, new Comparator<Integer>() {
            @Override
            public int compare(Integer a, Integer b) {
                return a.compareTo(b);
            }
        });
 
        // Print the sorted array
        for (int i = 0; i < SIZE; i++) {
            System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
        }
    }
}

Python3

from functools import cmp_to_key
 
def compare(a, b):
  return a - b
 
def main():
  # Initialize the list
  arr = [3, 5, 1, 2, 4]
    # Sort the list using the compare function
  arr = sorted(arr, key=cmp_to_key(compare))
 
  # Print the sorted list
  for i in arr:
      print(i, end=" ")
main()

C#

using System;
using System.Linq;
 
class GFG {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        const int SIZE = 5;
       
        // Initialize the array
        int[] arr = { 3, 5, 1, 2, 4 };
       
        // Sort the array using the compare function
        Array.Sort(arr, (a, b) => a.CompareTo(b));
       
        // Print the sorted array
        foreach(int num in arr) {
            Console.Write(num + " ");
        }
    }
}

Javascript

const SIZE = 5;
 
// A comparison function that sorts the array in ascending
// order
function compare(a, b) {
  return a - b;
}
 
// Initialize the array
let arr = [3, 5, 1, 2, 4];
 
// Sort the array using the compare function
arr.sort(compare);
 
// Print the sorted array
for (let i = 0; i < SIZE; i++) {
  console.log(arr[i] + " ");
}

Output

1 2 3 4 5

Sorting in Multi-Dimensional Array:

1. Sorting a 2 – Dimensional array Case:

When you want to sort the row:

You can consider each row as a one-dimensional array and sort them individually

Syntax:

for( int i=0; i<row; i++) {
sort(arr[i], arr[i]+col)
}

Where,

row : Total no of row

col : Total no of col

Time Complexity: O(N * M * log M)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

When you want to sort the entire matrix:

Syntax:

sort(&arr[0][0], &arr[r-1][col])

Where

row: Total no of row

col: Total no of col

Time Complexity: O(N*M log (N*M)) for sorting only and O(N*M) for printing the array
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

Example:-

C++

// C++ code
 
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
#define R 3
#define C 3
 
void sortfun(int arr[R][C])
{
    // One by one sort
    // individual rows.
    for (int i = 0; i < R; i++)
        sort(arr[i], arr[i] + C);
 
    // Printing the sorted matrix
    for (int i = 0; i < R; i++) {
        for (int j = 0; j < C; j++)
            cout << (arr[i][j]) << " ";
        cout << endl;
    }
}
 
int main()
{
    // Initialize the 2D array
    int arr[3][3]
        = { { 3, 2, 1 }, { 6, 5, 4 }, { 9, 8, 7 } };
 
    // Sort the 2D array using the function
    sortfun(arr);
    return 0;
}
// code by ksam24000

Java

import java.util.Arrays;
 
public class Main {
  static final int R = 3;
  static final int C = 3;
 
  static void sortfun(int arr[][]) {
 
    // One by one sort
    // individual rows.
    for (int i = 0; i < R; i++) {
      Arrays.sort(arr[i]);
    }
 
    // Printing the sorted matrix
    for (int i = 0; i < R; i++) {
      for (int j = 0; j < C; j++) {
        System.out.print(arr[i][j] + " ");
      }
      System.out.println();
    }
  }
 
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    int arr[][] = { { 3, 2, 1 }, { 6, 5, 4 }, { 9, 8, 7 } };
 
    // Sort the 2D array using the function
    sortfun(arr);
  }
}

Python3

# Python3 code
 
R = 3
C = 3
 
def sortfun(arr):
    # One by one sort
    # individual rows.
    for i in range(R):
        arr[i].sort()
 
    # Printing the sorted matrix
    for i in range(R):
        for j in range(C):
            print(arr[i][j], end=" ")
        print()
 
# Initialize the 2D array
arr = [ [ 3, 2, 1 ], [ 6, 5, 4 ], [ 9, 8, 7 ] ]
 
# Sort the 2D array using the function
sortfun(arr)

C#

using System;
 
class Program
{
    static int R = 3;
    static int C = 3;
 
    static void SortMatrix(int[,] arr)
    {
        // One by one sort individual rows.
        for (int i = 0; i < R; i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < C - 1; j++)
            {
                for (int k = 0; k < C - j - 1; k++)
                {
                    if (arr[i, k] > arr[i, k + 1])
                    {
                        // Swap elements if they are in the wrong order
                        int temp = arr[i, k];
                        arr[i, k] = arr[i, k + 1];
                        arr[i, k + 1] = temp;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
 
        // Printing the sorted matrix
        for (int i = 0; i < R; i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < C; j++)
            {
                Console.Write(arr[i, j] + " ");
            }
            Console.WriteLine();
        }
    }
 
    static void Main()
    {
        // Initialize the 2D array
        int[,] arr = { { 3, 2, 1 }, { 6, 5, 4 }, { 9, 8, 7 } };
 
        // Sort the 2D array using the function
        SortMatrix(arr);
    }
}

Javascript

function sortfun(arr) {
    // One by one sort
    // individual rows.
    for (let i = 0; i < R; i++)
        arr[i].sort();
 
    // Printing the sorted matrix
    for (let i = 0; i < R; i++) {
        for (let j = 0; j < C; j++)
            console.log(arr[i][j] + " ");
        console.log("\n");
    }
}
 
// Initialize the 2D array
const R = 3;
const C = 3;
const arr = [[3, 2, 1], [6, 5, 4], [9, 8, 7]];
 
// Sort the 2D array using the function
sortfun(arr);

Output

1 2 3 
4 5 6 
7 8 9

Note: This was for only 2-D array case but for any dimensional array it works the same way.

2. Sorting for a 3-Dimensional Array:

Consider, the three dimensions to be X, Y and Z.

So, for the first case, where we want to sort it according to the row. The pseudocode will be:

for( int i=0; i<X; i++)
for(int j=0; j<Y; j++)
sort(arr[i][j], arr[i][j]+Z)

Time Complexity: O(X*Y*Z log Z)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

Now, for the second case, where we want to sort entire matrix. The pseudocode will be:

sort(&arr[0][0][0], &arr[X-1][Y-1][Z])

Time Complexity: O(X*Y*Z log (X*Y*Z))
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

C++

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
const int R = 3, C = 3, H = 3;
 
void sortfun(int arr[][R][C])
{
    // One by one sort individual rows.
    for (int i = 0; i < H; i++)
        for (int j = 0; j < R; j++)
            sort(arr[i][j], arr[i][j] + C);
 
    // Printing the sorted matrix
    for (int i = 0; i < H; i++) {
        cout << "Layer " << i + 1 << ":" << endl;
        for (int j = 0; j < R; j++) {
            for (int k = 0; k < C; k++)
                cout << arr[i][j][k] << " ";
            cout << endl;
        }
    }
}
 
int main()
{
    int arr[H][R][C] = {
        { { 3, 2, 1 }, { 6, 5, 4 }, { 9, 8, 7 } },
        { { 11, 12, 13 }, { 14, 15, 16 }, { 17, 18, 19 } },
        { { 21, 22, 23 }, { 24, 25, 26 }, { 27, 28, 29 } }
    };
 
    sortfun(arr);
    return 0;
}

Java

import java.util.Arrays;
 
public class Main {
    static final int R = 3;
    static final int C = 3;
    static final int H = 3;
 
    public static void sortfun(int[][][] arr)
    {
        // One by one sort individual rows.
        for (int i = 0; i < H; i++)
            for (int j = 0; j < R; j++)
                Arrays.sort(arr[i][j]);
 
        // Printing the sorted matrix
        for (int i = 0; i < H; i++) {
            System.out.println("Layer " + (i + 1) + ":");
            for (int j = 0; j < R; j++) {
                for (int k = 0; k < C; k++)
                    System.out.print(arr[i][j][k] + " ");
                System.out.println();
            }
        }
    }
 
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int[][][] arr
            = { { { 3, 2, 1 }, { 6, 5, 4 }, { 9, 8, 7 } },
                { { 11, 12, 13 },
                  { 14, 15, 16 },
                  { 17, 18, 19 } },
                { { 21, 22, 23 },
                  { 24, 25, 26 },
                  { 27, 28, 29 } } };
 
        sortfun(arr);
    }
}

Python3

R = 3
C = 3
H = 3
 
def sortfun(arr):
    # One by one sort individual rows.
    for i in range(H):
        for j in range(R):
            arr[i][j] = sorted(arr[i][j])
 
    # Printing the sorted matrix
    for i in range(H):
        print("Layer " + str(i + 1) + ":")
        for j in range(R):
            for k in range(C):
                print(arr[i][j][k], end=" ")
            print()
 
# Initializing the 3D array
arr = [
    [[3, 2, 1], [6, 5, 4], [9, 8, 7]],
    [[11, 12, 13], [14, 15, 16], [17, 18, 19]],
    [[21, 22, 23], [24, 25, 26], [27, 28, 29]]
]
 
sortfun(arr)
#This code is contributed by Akash Jha

C#

using System;
 
public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        int[,,] arr = new int[3, 3, 3] {
        { { 3, 2, 1 }, { 6, 5, 4 }, { 9, 8, 7 } },
        { { 11, 12, 13 }, { 14, 15, 16 }, { 17, 18, 19 } },
        { { 21, 22, 23 }, { 24, 25, 26 }, { 27, 28, 29 } }
    };
        Console.WriteLine("Original array:");
        PrintArray(arr);
 
        int[] flatArr = new int[arr.Length];
        int index = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < arr.GetLength(0); i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < arr.GetLength(1); j++)
            {
                for (int k = 0; k < arr.GetLength(2); k++)
                {
                    flatArr[index++] = arr[i, j, k];
                }
            }
        }
 
        Array.Sort(flatArr);
 
        index = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < arr.GetLength(0); i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < arr.GetLength(1); j++)
            {
                for (int k = 0; k < arr.GetLength(2); k++)
                {
                    arr[i, j, k] = flatArr[index++];
                }
            }
        }
 
        Console.WriteLine("Sorted array:");
        PrintArray(arr);
    }
 
    public static void PrintArray(int[,,] arr)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < arr.GetLength(0); i++)
        {
            for (int j = 0; j < arr.GetLength(1); j++)
            {
                for (int k = 0; k < arr.GetLength(2); k++)
                {
                    Console.Write(arr[i, j, k] + " ");
                }
                Console.WriteLine();
            }
            Console.WriteLine();
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}
//This code is contributed bu Akash Jha

Javascript

const R = 3, C = 3, H = 3;
 
function sortfun(arr) {
  // One by one sort individual rows.
  for (let i = 0; i < H; i++)
    for (let j = 0; j < R; j++)
      arr[i][j].sort();
 
  // Printing the sorted matrix
  for (let i = 0; i < H; i++) {
    console.log(`Layer ${i + 1}:`);
    for (let j = 0; j < R; j++) {
      console.log(arr[i][j].join(' '));
    }
  }
}
 
let arr = [  [    [3, 2, 1],
    [6, 5, 4],
    [9, 8, 7]
  ],
  [    [11, 12, 13],
    [14, 15, 16],
    [17, 18, 19]
  ],
  [    [21, 22, 23],
    [24, 25, 26],
    [27, 28, 29]
  ]
];
 
sortfun(arr);

Output

How to sort an array of objects by property values ?

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Article Tags :

Practice Tags :

How to Sort a Multi-dimensional Array by Value

What is Sorting?

Sorting a 1-Dimensional array:

C++

Java

Python3

C#

Javascript

Sorting in Multi-Dimensional Array:

1. Sorting a 2 – Dimensional array Case:

Example:-

C++

Java

Python3

C#

Javascript

2. Sorting for a 3-Dimensional Array:

C++

Java

Python3

C#

Javascript

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