How can one compare string and numeric values (respecting negative values, with null always last)?

Question

I\'m trying to sort an array of values that can be a mixture of numeric or string values (e.g. [10,\"20\",null,\"1\",\"bar\",\"-2\",-3,null,5,\"foo\"]). How can

Answer 1

function sortByDataString(a, b) {
    if (a === null) {
        return 1;
    }
    if (b === null) {
        return -1;
    }
    if (isNumber(a) && isNumber(b)) {
        if (parseInt(a,10) === parseInt(b,10)) {
            return 0;
        }
        return parseInt(a,10) > parseInt(b,10) ? 1 : -1;
    }
    if (isNumber(a)) {
        return -1;
    }
    if (isNumber(b)) {
        return 1;
    }
    if (a === b) {
        return 0;
    }
    return a > b ? 1 : -1;
}

fiddle here: http://jsfiddle.net/gxFGN/6/

I left out the order parameter, but you could always reverse the array at the end if needed.