Sorting NSString values as if NSInteger using NSSortDescriptor

Question

I have created a sort descriptor to sort a plist response coming from my server. This works well with sort key having values upto 9. With more than 10 items I see abrupt res

Answer 1

input

{
    "seats": [{
        "seatNumber": "1"
    }, {
        "seatNumber": "10"
    }, {
        "seatNumber": "2"
    }]
}

sort using [NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:@"seatNumber" ascending:YES selector:@selector(localizedStandardCompare:)]]. The key is to use localizedStandardCompare. This will solve you problem.

NSArray *seats = [self.seats sortedArrayUsingDescriptors:@[[NSSortDescriptor sortDescriptorWithKey:@"seatNumber" ascending:YES selector:@selector(localizedStandardCompare:)]]];

output

{
    "seats": [{
        "seatNumber": "1"
    }, {
        "seatNumber": "2"
    }, {
        "seatNumber": "10"
    }]
}

documentation: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/nsstring/1409742-localizedstandardcompare