How Can I Sort a Multidimensional Array by Multiple Columns in PHP?

Sorting Multidimensional Arrays by Multiple Columns

Sorting multidimensional arrays by multiple columns can be a challenging task. However, PHP provides an array of functions that make it relatively straightforward.

One such function is array_multisort(). This function allows you to sort an array by multiple criteria simultaneously. To use array_multisort(), you must first create an array of sort columns and their corresponding data.

Here's an example:

<?php
$mylist = array(
    array('ID' => 1, 'title' => 'Boring Meeting', 'date_start' => '2010-07-30', 'event_type' => 'meeting', 'state' => 'new-york'),
    array('ID' => 2, 'title' => 'Find My Stapler', 'date_start' => '2010-07-22', 'event_type' => 'meeting', 'state' => 'new-york'),
    array('ID' => 3, 'title' => 'Mario Party', 'date_start' => '2010-07-22', 'event_type' => 'party', 'state' => 'new-york'),
    array('ID' => 4, 'title' => 'Duct Tape Party', 'date_start' => '2010-07-28', 'event_type' => 'party', 'state' => 'california')
);

# get a list of sort columns and their data to pass to array_multisort
$sort = array();
foreach($mylist as $k => $v) {
    $sort['state'][$k] = $v['state'];
    $sort['event_type'][$k] = $v['event_type'];
    $sort['date_start'][$k] = $v['date_start'];
}

# sort by state asc, event_type desc, and date_start asc
array_multisort($sort['state'], SORT_ASC, $sort['event_type'], SORT_DESC, $sort['date_start'], SORT_ASC, $mylist);

print_r($mylist); // print the sorted array

?php>

As of PHP 5.5.0, you can use the following simplified syntax:

<?php
array_multisort(array_column($mylist, 'state'), SORT_ASC,
                array_column($mylist, 'event_type'), SORT_DESC,
                array_column($mylist, 'date_start'), SORT_ASC,
                $mylist);
?php>

The $mylist array will now be sorted by the specified columns in the desired order.

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