Locale-Aware Sorting (Collation)
Sorting strings according to language-specific alphabetical order rules.
Definition
Locale-aware sorting (collation) orders strings according to the alphabetical rules of a specific language. Different languages sort characters differently: German treats ä after a, Swedish puts ä at the end of the alphabet, Spanish historically sorted 'ch' and 'll' as single letters. JavaScript's Intl.Collator handles locale-aware sorting.
Examples
- →German: a, ä, b (ä sorts with a)
- →Swedish: a, b, ..., z, å, ä, ö (ä at end)
- →Case sensitivity: 'a' vs 'A' ordering varies
- →Intl.Collator('de').compare('ä', 'z') // negative (ä before z)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sort strings for different locales in JavaScript?
Use Intl.Collator: const collator = new Intl.Collator('de'); array.sort(collator.compare); Or use localeCompare: array.sort((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b, 'de')). Both use locale-specific rules.
Does sorting affect search and filtering?
Yes. Locale-aware comparison affects 'starts with' filters, search matching, and range queries. For databases, configure collation on columns. For UI search, consider accent-insensitive comparison with Intl.Collator options.