sort array of objects based on string

Question

Suppose we have an array like

var a = [
    { name: 'Tom', surname: 'TestAsIvanov' },
    { name: 'Kate', surname: 'Ivanova' },
    { name: 'John', surname: 'Alivanov' },
    { name: 'Ivan', surname: 'Ivanov' }
]

I need to sort this array by surname field based on a provided string, e.g.:

1. for 'iva' the pattern array should be sorted as follows

var newA = [
    { name: 'Ivan', surname: 'Ivanov' },
    { name: 'Kate', surname: 'Ivanova' },
    { name: 'John', surname: 'Alivanov' },
    { name: 'Tom', surname: 'TestAsIvanov' },
]

2. for 'a' the pattern array should be sorted as follows

var newA = [
    { name: 'John', surname: 'Alivanov' },
    { name: 'Ivan', surname: 'Ivanov' },
    { name: 'Kate', surname: 'Ivanova' },
    { name: 'Tom', surname: 'TestAsIvanov' },
]

So arrays should be ordered by string pattern provided. How is it possible to implement this?

Answer 1

I've made a simple sort script for that. I don't know if it is the best way because I had to use two sort() methods, one to sort alphabetically(taken from here) and another to simulate a LIKE 'string%'(comparing to SQL) to get your condition:

var queryString = "iva";

a = a.sort(function(a, b) {
    var s1 = a.surname.toUpperCase().indexOf(queryString.toUpperCase());
    var s2 = b.surname.toUpperCase().indexOf(queryString.toUpperCase());

    return (s1 > -1 && s1 > s2);
});

Fiddle with full code

At least it worked with both examples you provided, but I'm not sure if it is all you need.