Sort a Boolean Array in JavaScript, TypeScript, or Node.js

Sorting arrays in a common use case in application development. Sorting arrays by a boolean value is not as typical as sorting by numbers or strings. At least for us at Future Studio.

This tutorial shows you how to sort a JavaScript boolean array. Also: this approach works in TypeScript, too!

Node.js Series Overview

  1. String Replace All Appearances
  2. Remove All Whitespace From a String in JavaScript
  3. Generate a Random ID or String in Node.js or JavaScript
  4. Remove Extra Spaces From a String in JavaScript or Node.js
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  6. Get the Part Before a Character in a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  7. Get the Part After a Character in a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  8. How to Check if a Value is a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  9. Check If a String Includes All Strings in JavaScript/Node.js/TypeScript
  10. Check if a Value is a String in JavaScript and Node.js
  11. Limit and Truncate a String to a Given Length in JavaScript and Node.js
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  13. How to Generage a UUID in Node.js
  14. Reverse a String in JavaScript or Node.js
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  20. Get the Part After First Occurrence in a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  21. Get the Part Before First Occurrence in a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  22. Get the Part Before Last Occurrence in a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  23. Get the Part After Last Occurrence in a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  24. How to Count Words in a File
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  26. Append Characters or Words to a String in JavaScript or Node.js
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  29. Left-Trim Characters Off a String in JavaScript or Node.js
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  31. Lowercase the First Character of a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  32. Uppercase the First Character of a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  33. Prepend Characters or Words to a String in JavaScript or Node.js
  34. Check if a String is a Number
  35. Convert a String to Buffer
  36. Prevent Line Breaks in String Template Literals
  37. How to Implement a Custom `toString` Method (Coming soon)
  38. What Is `Symbol.toStringTag` and How to Use It (Coming soon)

Sort a Boolean Array in JavaScript or TypeScript

The .sort() method in JavaScript or Typescript accepts a comparator function providing you two values of the array.

When sorting booleans, you can short-circuit the comparator and only use a single value. The single boolean value is enough to check whether it’s “true” or “false” and return 1 (value comes first) or -1 (value comes last):

[true, false, true, false].sort(value => {
  return value ? 1 : -1 // `false` values first
})

// [ false, false, true, true ]

Depending on your sort direction, you may want the true values first. Switch the return values in the comparator and return -1 if you want all “true” value to come first:

[true, false, true, false].sort(value => {
  return value ? -1 : 1 // `true` values first
})

// [ true, true, false, false ]

This Code Snippet Works in TypeScript

TypeScript requires you to run arithmetic operations on one of these types: any, number, bigint, or enum. The TypeScript linter fails when sorting a boolean array using a - b (a minus b).

Checking whether the given value is true and returning a number works fine in TypeScript. Sweet!

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