> @a= qw (68 3 5 67 54 23 69 );
>
> @b = sort {-1} @a; ### what happens here !
> results = 5,3,68,67,69,23,54
>
Hey look, its reversed the order of the numbers either side
of the number 67! Extremely useful :P You shouldn't use
this sort, since it breaks for other quantities of numbers.
> @c = sort {$a <=> $b} @a; ### what happens here !
> results = 3,5,23,54,67,68,69
Sorts numerically.
> I know that sort by default sort in ascii order, I
> wanted to know what exactly happens to the "spaceship"
> operator. Could somebody help me to visualize what's
> taking place.
>
> Thanks
Sort needs a subroutine which returns -1, 0, 1 as the
result of comparing two elements. The values mean (where
$a and $b is a pair of values from the array):
-1 = put $a before $b
0 = doesn't matter which way to put $a and $b (i.e equal)
1 = put $a after $b
Now, the lovely <=> operator returns the following:
-1 - when $a is less than $b
0 - when $a is equal to $b
1 = when $a is greater than $b
Combine these:
When $a is less than $b put $a first.
When $a is same as $b leave alone.
When $a is greater than $b put $a second.
Result:
You have a numerical sort! You don't really need to know
the impliementation of the sort (I was going to explain it,
but my explaination seemed too hazy).
Jonathan Paton
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