The array_multisort Function

The array_multisort function allows you to sort several arrays simultaneously or perform complex sorting of multidimensional arrays by one or more criteria.

Syntax

array_multisort(
	array1, 
	[sorting_order = SORT_ASC], 
	[sorting_type = SORT_REGULAR], 
	array2, 
	array3, 
	...
);

sorting_order Parameter

The sorting_order parameter sets the sorting direction. Here are its values:

Parameter	Description
`SORT_ASC`	Ascending order sort (default value).
`SORT_DESC`	Descending order sort.

sorting_type Parameter

The sorting_type parameter sets the type of element comparison. Here are its values:

Parameter	Description
`SORT_REGULAR`	Regular comparison of elements (default).
`SORT_NUMERIC`	Numeric comparison of elements.
`SORT_STRING`	String comparison of elements.
`SORT_LOCALE_STRING`	String comparison based on the current locale.
`SORT_NATURAL`	Natural order string sorting (like in a file explorer).
`SORT_FLAG_CASE`	Can be combined with SORT_STRING or SORT_NATURAL for case-insensitive sorting.

Example

Sorting two arrays with specified parameters:

<?php
	$numbers = [10, 2, 15, 4];
	$letters = ['b', 'a', 'd', 'c'];
	array_multisort(
		$numbers, SORT_DESC, SORT_NUMERIC,
		$letters, SORT_ASC, SORT_STRING
	);
	print_r($numbers);
	print_r($letters);
?>

Code execution result:

[15, 10, 4, 2]
['d', 'b', 'c', 'a']

Example

Sorting a multidimensional array by a specified field:

<?php
	$data = [
		['name' => 'John', 'age' => 25],
		['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 22],
		['name' => 'Bob', 'age' => 30]
	];
	
	$ages = array_column($data, 'age');
	array_multisort($ages, SORT_ASC, $data);
	print_r($data);
?>

Code execution result:

[
	['name' => 'Alice', 'age' => 22],
	['name' => 'John', 'age' => 25],
	['name' => 'Bob', 'age' => 30]
]

Example

Sorting a multidimensional array by two specified fields:

<?php
	$data = [
		['name' => 'John', 'age' => 25],
		['name' => 'alice', 'age' => 22],
		['name' => 'Bob', 'age' => 30]
	];
	
	$names = array_column($data, 'name');
	$ages = array_column($data, 'age');
	array_multisort(
		$names, SORT_ASC, SORT_STRING | SORT_FLAG_CASE,
		$ages, SORT_DESC,
		$data
	);
	print_r($data);
?>

Code execution result:

[
	['name' => 'alice', 'age' => 22],
	['name' => 'Bob', 'age' => 30],
	['name' => 'John', 'age' => 25]
]

Example

Natural order string sorting:

<?php
	$files = ['file1.txt', 'file10.txt', 'file2.txt'];
	array_multisort($files, SORT_ASC, SORT_NATURAL);
	print_r($files);
?>

Code execution result:

['file1.txt', 'file2.txt', 'file10.txt']

Example

Case-insensitive sorting:

<?php
	$words = ['Apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'apricot'];
	array_multisort($words, SORT_ASC, SORT_STRING | SORT_FLAG_CASE);
	print_r($words);
?>

Code execution result:

['Apple', 'apricot', 'banana', 'cherry']

The array_multisort Function

Syntax

sorting_order Parameter

sorting_type Parameter

Example

Example

Example

Example

Example

See Also