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https://github.com/augustoproiete/naturalstringextensions
Extensions for sorting strings using natural sort order i.e. Alphabetical order for humans
https://github.com/augustoproiete/naturalstringextensions
c-sharp csharp dotnet hacktoberfest natural-sort natural-sorting nuget sort string string-compare string-comparison string-extensions
Last synced: about 2 months ago
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Extensions for sorting strings using natural sort order i.e. Alphabetical order for humans
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/augustoproiete/naturalstringextensions
- Owner: augustoproiete
- License: apache-2.0
- Created: 2021-01-11T20:52:11.000Z (almost 4 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2024-10-24T23:03:02.000Z (2 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-10-25T21:07:51.453Z (about 2 months ago)
- Topics: c-sharp, csharp, dotnet, hacktoberfest, natural-sort, natural-sorting, nuget, sort, string, string-compare, string-comparison, string-extensions
- Language: C#
- Homepage:
- Size: 205 KB
- Stars: 28
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 2
- Open Issues: 9
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Changelog: CHANGES.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE
- Codeowners: CODEOWNERS
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
| README.md |
|:---|
NaturalStringExtensions
Micro-library for sorting strings using natural sort order i.e. Alphabetical order for humans.
[](https://www.nuget.org/packages/NaturalStringExtensions/) [](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download) [](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download) [](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download) [](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/c%23)
## Give a Star! :star:
If you like or are using this project please give it a star. Thanks!
## Background
A common scenario in many applications is ordering of string data using natural sort order.
Natural sort order is an ordering of strings in alphabetical order, except that multi-digit numbers are treated atomically, i.e., as if they were a single character. Natural sort order has been promoted as being more human-friendly ("natural") than the machine-oriented pure alphabetical order.
For example, in alphabetical sorting `Folder11` would be sorted before `Folder2` because `1` is sorted as smaller than `2`, while in natural sorting `Folder2` is sorted before `Folder11` because `2` is sorted as smaller than `11`.
| Alphabetical | Natural | | Alphabetical | Natural |
| -------------- | ----------------------------- | --- | ------------- | ---------------------------- |
| `Folder1` | `Folder1` | | `v1.2.0` | `v1.2.0` |
| `Folder10` :x: | `Folder2` | | `v10.1.0` :x: | `v2.0.0` |
| `Folder11` :x: | `Folder10` :white_check_mark: | | `v10.5.3` :x: | `v2.1.0` |
| `Folder2` | `Folder11` :white_check_mark: | | `v2.0.0` | `v3.1.0` |
| `Folder20` | `Folder20` | | `v2.1.0` | `v10.1.0` :white_check_mark: |
| `Folder35` | `Folder35` | | `v3.1.0` | `v10.5.3` :white_check_mark: |
Example scenarios where `NaturalStringExtensions` can be useful include sorting of file names, folder names, and version numbers.
## Getting started :rocket:
Install the [NaturalStringExtensions](https://www.nuget.org/packages/NaturalStringExtensions) package from NuGet:
```powershell
Install-Package NaturalStringExtensions
```
Use one of the `IEnumerable` extension methods to sort a list based on a string field, using natural sort order:
```csharp
var folderNames = new[]
{
"Folder20",
"Folder1",
"Folder2",
"Folder10",
};
var sortedfolderNames = folderNames.OrderByNatural();
foreach (var folderName in sortedfolderNames)
{
Console.WriteLine(folderName);
}
```
Output:
```
Folder1
Folder2
Folder10
Folder20
```
---
In the [sample](sample/) folder, there's an example of a Console application that uses `NaturalStringExtensions` to order a list of versions using natural sort order, as described above.
## Extension methods
Use one of the `IEnumerable` extension methods to sort a list based on a string field, using a natural sort order:
| Extension method | Description |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `OrderByNatural` | Sorts the elements of a sequence in natural ascending order |
| `OrderByNaturalDescending` | Sorts the elements of a sequence in natural descending order |
| `ThenByNatural` | Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in natural ascending order |
| `ThenByNaturalDescending` | Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in natural descending order |
## NaturalStringComparer
A `NaturalStringComparer` class that implements `IComparer` is available for comparing strings using a natural sort order:
```csharp
const string left = "Folder 10";
const string right = "Folder 5";
var result = new NaturalStringComparer().Compare(left, right);
// 1 -> "Folder 10" is > "Folder 5"
```
For convenience, the `NaturalStringComparer` class has a static property called `Instance` with a thread-safe instance of `NaturalStringComparer` ready for use, which is also cached upon first use.
```csharp
using System.IO;
// ...
var currentDirectory = new DirectoryInfo(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory());
var sortedDirectoryNames = currentDirectory.EnumerateDirectories()
.OrderBy(d => d.FullName, NaturalStringComparer.Ordinal);
```
### Sorting Arrays without LINQ
```csharp
var folderNames = new[]
{
"Folder1000",
"Folder200",
"Folder30",
"Folder4",
};
Array.Sort(folderNames, NaturalStringComparer.Ordinal);
// Contents of folderNames array:
//
// Folder4
// Folder30
// Folder200
// Folder1000
//
```
## Release History
Click on the [Releases](https://github.com/augustoproiete/NaturalStringExtensions/releases) tab on GitHub.
---
_Copyright © 2021-2023 C. Augusto Proiete & Contributors - Provided under the [Apache License, Version 2.0](LICENSE). `NaturalStringExtensions` logo is a derivative of work by [Benjamin STAWARZ](https://www.iconfinder.com/bensta) ([original](https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/6138342/desc_direction_down_numeric_sort_filter_icon))._