Re: Sorting strings

[ozone]

you can use the clever form of sort:

my @normalTimes = ('+1h6m', '0h13m', '-4h10m', '-6h5m');

my @sortedTimes = sort { getMinutes($b) <=> getMinutes($a) } @normalTi
+mes;

sub getMinutes
{
    my($hour,$minute) = split(/[hm]/, shift);
    return( ($hour * 60) + (($hour > 0) ? $minute : -$minute));
}

UPDATE: fixed typos & sub error (thanks Hofmator)

[Hofmator]

Some things go wrong with your code

• typos: substitute the braces after getMinutes with normal parentheses
• getMinutes doesn't calculate correctly:

  -1h10m => -50  # correct -70
  -1h20m => -40 # correct -80
  

  so the sorting is not correct.
• You are calculating the getMinutes values more than once per entry. See my solution elsewhere in this thread for a way to cache these results.

-- Hofmator

[ChemBoy]

I'd be hesitant to say that running that calculation more than once per value is something "wrong" with the code--as was pointed out to me by jeroenes, for sorting a small number of elements, the Schwartzian doesn't buy you anything significant (especially for a cheap calculation like this one). Of course, if N gets larger, then the benefits of using it increase, so ++ for posting it: I just don't think it's necessarily called for here.




---

If God had meant us to fly, he would *never* have given us the railroads.
    --Michael Flanders