Array.Sort Method (Array, Array, IComparer)
Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Parameters
- keys
- Type: System.Array
The one-dimensional Array that contains the keys to sort.
- items
- Type: System.Array
The one-dimensional Array that contains the items that correspond to each of the keys in the keys Array.
-or-
null to sort only the keys Array.
- comparer
- Type: System.Collections.IComparer
The IComparer implementation to use when comparing elements.
-or-
null to use the IComparable implementation of each element.
| Exception | Condition |
|---|---|
| ArgumentNullException | keys is null. |
| RankException | The keys Array is multidimensional. -or- The items Array is multidimensional. |
| ArgumentException | items is not null, and the lower bound of keys does not match the lower bound of items. -or- items is not null, and the length of keys is greater than the length of items. -or- The implementation of comparer caused an error during the sort. For example, comparer might not return 0 when comparing an item with itself. |
| InvalidOperationException | comparer is null, and one or more elements in the keys Array do not implement the IComparable interface. |
Each key in the keys Array has a corresponding item in the items Array. When a key is repositioned during the sorting, the corresponding item in the items Array is similarly repositioned. Therefore, the items Array is sorted according to the arrangement of the corresponding keys in the keys Array.
If comparer is null, each key in the keys Array must implement the IComparable interface to be capable of comparisons with every other key.
You can sort if there are more items than keys, but the items that have no corresponding keys will not be sorted. You cannot sort if there are more keys than items; doing this throws an ArgumentException.
If the sort is not successfully completed, the results are undefined.
This method uses the QuickSort algorithm. This implementation performs an unstable sort; that is, if two elements are equal, their order might not be preserved. In contrast, a stable sort preserves the order of elements that are equal.
On average, this method is an O(n log n) operation, where n is the Length of keys; in the worst case it is an O(n ^ 2) operation.
For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.