Sorting an Array of Objects by Date in JavaScript

1. Sorting Using Date Objects

The simplest approach to sort by date is leveraging JavaScript’s built-in Date object.

Example

const data = [
  { name: 'Event 1', date: new Date('2023-01-15') },
  { name: 'Event 2', date: new Date('2022-12-20') },
  { name: 'Event 3', date: new Date('2023-03-05') }
];

data.sort((a, b) => a.date - b.date);

console.log(data);

Output

[
  { name: 'Event 2', date: 2022-12-20T00:00:00.000Z },
  { name: 'Event 1', date: 2023-01-15T00:00:00.000Z },
  { name: 'Event 3', date: 2023-03-05T00:00:00.000Z }
]

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2. Sorting Using getTime() Method

The getTime() method returns the numeric value corresponding to the time since January 1, 1970, which can be directly compared.

Example

const data = [
  { name: 'Event 1', date: new Date('2023-01-15') },
  { name: 'Event 2', date: new Date('2022-12-20') },
  { name: 'Event 3', date: new Date('2023-03-05') }
];

data.sort((a, b) => a.date.getTime() - b.date.getTime());

console.log(data);

Output

Same as above.

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3. Creating a Custom Sorting Function

For enhanced readability and reusability, define a custom sorting function.

Example

const sortByDate = (a, b) => a.date - b.date;

const data = [
  { name: 'Event 1', date: new Date('2023-01-15') },
  { name: 'Event 2', date: new Date('2022-12-20') },
  { name: 'Event 3', date: new Date('2023-03-05') }
];

data.sort(sortByDate);

console.log(data);

Advantages

• Easily reusable across multiple datasets.

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4. Leveraging Lodash’s _.orderBy()

Lodash, a popular utility library, offers the _.orderBy() method, which allows complex sorting configurations.

Example

const _ = require('lodash');

const data = [
  { name: 'Event 1', date: new Date('2023-01-15') },
  { name: 'Event 2', date: new Date('2022-12-20') },
  { name: 'Event 3', date: new Date('2023-03-05') }
];

const sortedData = _.orderBy(data, ['date'], ['asc']);

console.log(sortedData);

Advantages

• Supports multi-level sorting with ease.

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5. Sorting with Intl.DateTimeFormat

For internationalization and formatted date strings, Intl.DateTimeFormat can be combined with sort().

Example

const data = [
  { id: 1, date: '2022-01-15' },
  { id: 2, date: '2023-03-20' },
  { id: 3, date: '2021-09-10' }
];

data.sort((a, b) =>
  new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US').format(new Date(a.date)) -
  new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US').format(new Date(b.date))
);

console.log(data);

Output

[
  { id: 3, date: '2021-09-10' },
  { id: 1, date: '2022-01-15' },
  { id: 2, date: '2023-03-20' }
]

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Comparison of Methods

Method	Best Use Case	Complexity
Using Date Objects	Basic sorting with native objects	Low
Using getTime()	When working with timestamps	Low
Custom Sorting Function	Reusable and readable sorting logic	Medium
Lodash’s _.orderBy()	Multi-level sorting	Medium
Intl.DateTimeFormat	Internationalization or formatted dates	High

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Conclusion

Sorting an array of objects by date in JavaScript can be achieved in various ways depending on the complexity of your use case. For simple tasks, the sort() method with Date or getTime() is sufficient. For more complex scenarios, consider using Lodash or custom functions for better flexibility.