PHP Array Exercises : Sort an associative array

Last update on May 30 2025 13:14:10 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

8. Sort Associative Array by Key and Value

Write a PHP script to sort the following associative array :

array("Sophia"=>"31","Jacob"=>"41","William"=>"39","Ramesh"=>"40") in
a) ascending order sort by value
b) ascending order sort by Key
c) descending order sorting by Value
d) descending order sorting by Key

Sample Solution:

PHP Code:

<?php
// Echo a message indicating the start of the section for sorting associative arrays in ascending order by value
echo "
Associative array : Ascending order sort by value";

// Define an associative array and sort it in ascending order by value using asort()
$array2 = array("Sophia" => "31", "Jacob" => "41", "William" => "39", "Ramesh" => "40");
asort($array2);

// Iterate through the sorted array and echo the key-value pairs
foreach ($array2 as $y => $y_value) {
    echo "Age of " . $y . " is : " . $y_value . "";
}

// Echo a message indicating the start of the section for sorting associative arrays in ascending order by key
echo "
Associative array : Ascending order sort by Key";

// Define an associative array and sort it in ascending order by key using ksort()
$array3 = array("Sophia" => "31", "Jacob" => "41", "William" => "39", "Ramesh" => "40");
ksort($array3);

// Iterate through the sorted array and echo the key-value pairs
foreach ($array3 as $y => $y_value) {
    echo "Age of " . $y . " is : " . $y_value . "";
}

// Echo a message indicating the start of the section for sorting associative arrays in descending order by value
echo "
Associative array : Descending order sorting by Value";

// Define an associative array and sort it in descending order by value using arsort()
$age = array("Sophia" => "31", "Jacob" => "41", "William" => "39", "Ramesh" => "40");
arsort($age);

// Iterate through the sorted array and echo the key-value pairs
foreach ($age as $y => $y_value) {
    echo "Age of " . $y . " is : " . $y_value . "";
}

// Echo a message indicating the start of the section for sorting associative arrays in descending order by key
echo "
Associative array : Descending order sorting by Key";

// Define an associative array and sort it in descending order by key using krsort()
$array4 = array("Sophia" => "31", "Jacob" => "41", "William" => "39", "Ramesh" => "40");
krsort($array4);

// Iterate through the sorted array and echo the key-value pairs
foreach ($array4 as $y => $y_value) {
    echo "Age of " . $y . " is : " . $y_value . "";
} 
?>

Output:

Associative array : Ascending order sort by value           
Age of Sophia is : 31                                       
Age of William is : 39                                      
Age of Ramesh is : 40                                       
Age of Jacob is : 41                                        
                                                            
Associative array : Ascending order sort by Key             
Age of Jacob is : 41                                        
Age of Ramesh is : 40                                       
Age of Sophia is : 31                                       
Age of William is : 39                                      
                                                            
Associative array : Descending order sorting by Value       
Age of Jacob is : 41                                        
Age of Ramesh is : 40                                       
Age of William is : 39                                      
Age of Sophia is : 31                                       
                                                            
Associative array : Descending order sorting by Key         
Age of William is : 39                                      
Age of Sophia is : 31                                       
Age of Ramesh is : 40  
Age of Jacob is : 41

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a PHP script to sort an associative array in ascending order by value and then by key, outputting both sorted arrays.
Write a PHP function to sort a given associative array in descending order by key and then in descending order by value using appropriate sorting functions.
Write a PHP program to sort an associative array in multiple ways (ascending by value, ascending by key, descending by value, descending by key) and display each result.
Write a PHP script that implements custom sort logic for an associative array based on a combined key-value criterion.

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