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Sorting a Two-Dimensional Array in C#

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4.96/5 (12 votes)
16 Mar 2011CPOL 79K   9   5
How to sort a two-dimensional array in C#

I'm a fan of Linq and extension methods for things like this. So, how does this look to you?

C#
public static class MultiDimensionalArrayExtensions
{
  /// <summary>
  ///   Orders the two dimensional array by the provided key in the key selector.
  /// </summary>
  /// <typeparam name="T">The type of the source two-dimensional array.</typeparam>
  /// <param name="source">The source two-dimensional array.</param>
  /// <param name="keySelector">The selector to retrieve the column to sort on.</param>
  /// <returns>A new two dimensional array sorted on the key.</returns>
  public static T[,] OrderBy<T>(this T[,] source, Func<T[], T> keySelector)
  {
      return source.ConvertToSingleDimension().OrderBy(keySelector).ConvertToMultiDimensional();
  }
  /// <summary>
  ///   Orders the two dimensional array by the provided key in the key selector in descending order.
  /// </summary>
  /// <typeparam name="T">The type of the source two-dimensional array.</typeparam>
  /// <param name="source">The source two-dimensional array.</param>
  /// <param name="keySelector">The selector to retrieve the column to sort on.</param>
  /// <returns>A new two dimensional array sorted on the key.</returns>
  public static T[,] OrderByDescending<T>(this T[,] source, Func<T[], T> keySelector)
  {
      return source.ConvertToSingleDimension().
      	OrderByDescending(keySelector).ConvertToMultiDimensional();
  }
  /// <summary>
  ///   Converts a two dimensional array to single dimensional array.
  /// </summary>
  /// <typeparam name="T">The type of the two dimensional array.</typeparam>
  /// <param name="source">The source two dimensional array.</param>
  /// <returns>The repackaged two dimensional array as a single dimension based on rows.</returns>
  private static IEnumerable<T[]> ConvertToSingleDimension<T>(this T[,] source)
  {
      T[] arRow;
 
      for (int row = 0; row < source.GetLength(0); ++row)
      {
          arRow = new T[source.GetLength(1)];
 
          for (int col = 0; col < source.GetLength(1); ++col)
              arRow[col] = source[row, col];
 
          yield return arRow;
      }
  }
  /// <summary>
  ///   Converts a collection of rows from a two dimensional array back into a two dimensional array.
  /// </summary>
  /// <typeparam name="T">The type of the two dimensional array.</typeparam>
  /// <param name="source">The source collection of rows to convert.</param>
  /// <returns>The two dimensional array.</returns>
  private static T[,] ConvertToMultiDimensional<T>(this IEnumerable<T[]> source)
  {
      T[,] twoDimensional;
      T[][] arrayOfArray;
      int numberofColumns;
 
      arrayOfArray = source.ToArray();
      numberofColumns = (arrayOfArray.Length > 0) ? arrayOfArray[0].Length : 0;
      twoDimensional = new T[arrayOfArray.Length, numberofColumns];
 
      for (int row = 0; row < arrayOfArray.GetLength(0); ++row)
          for (int col = 0; col < numberofColumns; ++col)
              twoDimensional[row, col] = arrayOfArray[row][col];
 
      return twoDimensional;
  }
}

Then, to be able to use the code above, you would simply do something like the following:

C#
int[,] array = new int[3, 3] { { 1, 4, 2 }, { 4, 5, 1 }, { 7, 3, 8 } };
 
int[,] sortedByFirstElement = array.OrderBy(x => x[0]);
int[,] sortedBySecondElement = array.OrderBy(x => x[1]);
int[,] sortedByThirdElement = array.OrderBy(x => x[2]);

The keyselector Func is merely the way to determine the column to sort on using lambdas.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Architect
United States United States
Since I've begun my profession as a software developer, I've learned one important fact - change is inevitable. Requirements change, code changes, and life changes.

So..If you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionNice function BUT Pin
Member 1043349624-Feb-19 19:21
Member 1043349624-Feb-19 19:21 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 Elegant solution, though not as tran... Pin
DrABELL9-Apr-11 12:45
DrABELL9-Apr-11 12:45 
Reason for my vote of 5
Elegant solution, though not as transparent as the original one. Also, performance comparison would be handy. 5*
GeneralI would like to see an example of how one would implement th... Pin
Tony Zackin10-Mar-11 16:42
Tony Zackin10-Mar-11 16:42 
GeneralRe: While I haven't tested it for performance, it may very well ... Pin
Andrew Rissing11-Mar-11 4:14
Andrew Rissing11-Mar-11 4:14 
GeneralRe: Thanks for pointing out the extra ToArray. I have removed it... Pin
Andrew Rissing16-Mar-11 9:12
Andrew Rissing16-Mar-11 9:12 

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