# ArrayObject::natsort

(PHP 5 >= 5.2.0, PHP 7)

ArrayObject::natsort — Sort entries using a "natural order" algorithm

### Description

public ArrayObject::natsort ( ) : void

This method implements a sort algorithm that orders alphanumeric strings in the way a human being would while maintaining key/value associations. This is described as a "natural ordering". An example of the difference between this algorithm and the regular computer string sorting algorithms (used in ArrayObject::asort) method can be seen in the example below.

### Parameters

This function has no parameters.

### Return Values

No value is returned.

### Examples

Example #1 ArrayObject::natsort() example

`<?php
$array = array("img12.png", "img10.png", "img2.png", "img1.png");
$arr1 = new ArrayObject($array);
$arr2 = clone $arr1;
$arr1->asort();
echo "Standard sorting\n";
print_r($arr1);
$arr2->natsort();
echo "\nNatural order sorting\n";
print_r($arr2);
?>`

The above example will output:

    Standard sorting
    ArrayObject Object
    (
        [3] => img1.png
        [1] => img10.png
        [0] => img12.png
        [2] => img2.png
    )

    Natural order sorting
    ArrayObject Object
    (
        [3] => img1.png
        [2] => img2.png
        [1] => img10.png
        [0] => img12.png
    )

For more information see: Martin Pool's » Natural Order String Comparison page.

### See Also

- ArrayObject::asort() - Sort the entries by value
- ArrayObject::ksort() - Sort the entries by key
- ArrayObject::natcasesort() - Sort an array using a case insensitive "natural order" algorithm
- ArrayObject::uasort() - Sort the entries with a user-defined comparison function and maintain key association
- ArrayObject::uksort() - Sort the entries by keys using a user-defined comparison function