How to Sort an Array from an Object Based on a Property and Retain the Original Structure

Learn how to sort an array within an object by a specific property using JavaScript, without losing the initial object's structure.
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Introduction

Sorting data is a fundamental requirement in programming, especially when working with objects and their nested arrays. You may encounter situations where you want to sort an array within an object based on a specific property while keeping the original object's structure intact.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how you can achieve that using JavaScript. We'll specifically sort an array based on the unit_amount property while ensuring we retain the rest of the object unchanged.

The Problem

Imagine you have the following object that contains an array of price data:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Your goal is to sort the data array based on the unit_amount property. However, you want to ensure that the initial properties such as url and has_more remain unchanged.

You might have tried using libraries (like Ramda), but found they only return the sorted data, losing the rest of the structure.

The Solution

To sort an array by a property while keeping the initial object intact, you can utilize JavaScript's spread operator (...) along with the sort() method. Here’s how you can do this:

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Define the Initial Object: Begin with your original object which contains the data you want to sort.

Use sort() on the Nested Array: JavaScript's sort() method will help sort the array based on the unit_amount.

Retain the Object Structure: Use the spread operator to ensure that the original object structure is maintained after sorting the data.

Implementation

Here's how to implement the solution:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Code

Object Destructuring: The ...obj expression creates a shallow copy of the obj, ensuring that all properties in the original object are preserved in newObj.

Sorting Logic: The sort() method is used with a comparison function that sorts the data array in ascending order based on the unit_amount property.

Final Output: The output will be a new object that retains the original structure but has the data array sorted as desired.

Conclusion

Sorting an array within an object while keeping the original structure might seem complicated at first, but with the right usage of JavaScript methods, it becomes quite simple. By following the method outlined in this post, you can easily sort your data and maintain the integrity of your entire object.

Feel free to use the code snippet provided for your projects and modify it as needed to suit your requirements!