AS3 - sort arraycollection alpha numeric values - actionscript-3

Question

i'm trying to sort an arraycollection that uses letters and numbers
Currently I'm getting "b12,c1,b1,b3,b4,b5,b6,b7,b8,b9,b10,b11,b0,b13,b14,b15" but want "b0,b1,b2,b3,b4,b5,b6,b7,b8,b9,b10,b11,b12,b13,b14,b15,c1"
Please can anyone suggest when're I have gone wrong?
var dataSortField:SortField = new SortField();
dataSortField.name = "order";
dataSortField.numeric = false;
dataSortField.compareFunction = sortAlphaNumeric;
var numericDataSort:Sort = new Sort();
numericDataSort.fields = [dataSortField];
pageArrCol.sort = numericDataSort;
private function sortAlphaNumeric(a:String, b:String):int {
var reA:RegExp = /[^a-zA-Z]/g;
var reN:RegExp = /[^0-9]/g;
var aA:String = a.replace(reA,"");
var bA:String = b.replace(reA,"");
if (aA === bA) {
var aN:int = parseInt(a.replace(reN,""),10);
var bN:int = parseInt(b.replace(reN,""),10);
return aN === bN ? 0 : aN > bN ? 1 : -1;
} else {
return aA > bA ? 1 : -1;
}
}

Answer 1

myArrayCollectionToSort.source.sortOn("order", sortAlphaNumeric);
private function sortAlphaNumeric(a:String, b:String):int {
var reA:RegExp = /[^a-zA-Z]+/g;
var reN:RegExp = /[^0-9]+/g;
var aA:String = a.match(reA)[0];
var bA:String = b.match(reA)[0];
if (aA == bA) {
var aN:int = parseInt(a.match(reN)[0],10);
var bN:int = parseInt(b.match(reN)[0],10);
return aN == bN ? 0 : aN > bN ? 1 : -1;
}
return aA > bA ? 1 : -1;
}
I don't test it but it should works, and array is way faster than an ArrayCollection. (arraycollection.source is an array). If the sorted ArrayCollection is binded you need to dispatch a refresh event if you want the bind to works:
myArrayCollectionToSort.dispatchEvent(new CollectionEvent(CollectionEvent.COLLECTION_CHANGE, false, false, CollectionEventKind.REFRESH));
or
myArrayCollectionToSort.refresh();

Answer 2

Assuming that b12,c1,b1 is your input format
You may have meant, a.match(regex)[0]
var reA:RegExp = /[a-zA-Z]+/g;
var reN:RegExp = /[0-9]+/g;
var aA:String = a.match(reA)[0];
var bA:String = b.match(reA)[0];
if (aA === bA) {
var aN:int = parseInt(a.match(reN)[0],10);
var bN:int = parseInt(b.match(reN)[0],10);
return aN === bN ? 0 : aN > bN ? 1 : -1;
}else {
return aA > bA ? 1 : -1;
}
I have not tested this, but you should not be using replace, use match instead. Also, the regular expression is wrong. You have to revisit the regular expression.