Sort string array containing time in format '09:00 AM'?

Question

I am trying to sort my array.

The array consists of data in time format.

Array:

\'9:15 AM\', \'10:20 AM\', \'02:15 PM\'

How

Answer 1

function sortTimes(arrayOfTimes) {

    return arrayOfTimes.sort((a, b) => {
        const aParts = getNumericParts(a);
        const bParts = getNumericParts(b);

        // Sorts by hour then minute
        return aParts[0] - bParts[0] || aParts[1] - bParts[1];
    });

    function getNumericParts(time) {
        // accounts formats of 9:15 AM and 09:15:30 but does not handle AM/PM in comparison
        return time.split(' ')[0].split(':').map(x => +x);
    }
}

Here's a more concise and performant variation of Dustin Silk's answer. It takes into account formats of 9:15 AM, 09:15, and 09:15:30 though it does not sort based on seconds. You could add that by using || aParts[2] - bParts[2] as a part of the return statement.

sortTimes(['08:00', '09:00', '05:00', '08:15', '08:00']) 
// Output ["05:00", "08:00", "08:00", "08:15", "09:00"]