A.sort(null) IE and non-IE

For reasons that are rather complicated, I have provided my JavaScript
sort() method of an array with the null parameter (rather than an
empty parameter list).

A=[2,3,8,4,1,0]
alert(A.sort(null))

In Opera, FF and Safari, A.sort(null) returns the same array as A, but
IE actually performs the default ascii-order sort. I would assume the
majority of browsers here are following the ECMA-script standard. Is
IE's behavior here a bug?

ddailey wrote:

A=[2,3,8,4,1,0]
alert(A.sort(null))

In Opera, FF and Safari, A.sort(null) returns the same array as A, but
IE actually performs the default ascii-order sort. I would assume the
majority of browsers here are following the ECMA-script standard. Is
IE's behavior here a bug?

It isn't:

If comparefn is not undefined and is not a consistent comparison
function for the elements of this array (see below), the behaviour
of sort is implementation-defined. [...]

Simply don't pass `null' as argument:

15.4.4.11 Array.prototype.sort (comparefn)

The elements of this array are sorted. The sort is not necessarily stable
(that is, elements that compare equal do not necessarily remain in their
original order). If comparefn is not undefined, it should be a function
that accepts two arguments x and y and returns a negative value if x < y,
zero if x = y, or a positive value if x > y.

PointedEars

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:

ddailey wrote:
A=[2,3,8,4,1,0]
alert(A.sort(null))

In Opera, FF and Safari, A.sort(null) returns the same array as A, but
IE actually performs the default ascii-order sort. I would assume the
majority of browsers here are following the ECMA-script standard. Is

_ECMAScript_

IE's behavior here a bug?

It isn't:
[...]

Besides, you have not tested carefully enough.

Test case
----------

var a = [2, 3, 8, 4, 1, 0];
window.alert(a.sort(null));
window.alert(a);

Results
--------

Opera/9.24 (Windows NT 5.1; U; en):

0,1,2,3,4,8
0,1,2,3,4,8

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.11) Gecko/20071127
Firefox/2.0.0.11:

Error: TypeError: invalid Array.prototype.sort argument
Code: window.alert(a.sort(null));
Line: 2

(no message window)

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; de-DE) AppleWebKit/523.15 (KHTML,
like Gecko) Version/3.0 Safari/523.15:

Error: TypeError: Null value
Line: 2

(no message window)


PointedEars
--
Prototype.js was written by people who don't know javascript for people
who don't know javascript. People who don't know javascript are not
the best source of advice on designing systems that use javascript.
-- Richard Cornford, cljs, <f806at$ail$1$8300dec7 (AT) news (DOT) demon.co.uk>

In comp.lang.javascript message <f735447e-98a7-4235-b710-fa8cb17cec56@m3
4g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, Thu, 3 Jan 2008 10:27:20, ddailey
<ddailey (AT) zoominternet (DOT) net> posted:

For reasons that are rather complicated, I have provided my JavaScript
sort() method of an array with the null parameter (rather than an
empty parameter list).

A=[2,3,8,4,1,0]
alert(A.sort(null))

In Opera, FF and Safari, A.sort(null) returns the same array as A, but
IE actually performs the default ascii-order sort. I would assume the
majority of browsers here are following the ECMA-script standard. Is
IE's behavior here a bug?

The standard is unclear. One cannot tell whether, by 'undefined', it
means 'not-defined' or it means 'the value that U has after var U ;' .
It's also not clear to me whether the standard says what should result
if no argument, or an argument like U, is given.

If you've not done so, it might be worth trying the use of U rather than
null.

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