Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/Intl/Collator/compare

The Intl.Collator.prototype.compare() method compares two strings according to the sort order of this Collator object.

Syntax

collator.compare(string1, string2)

Parameters

string1

string2

The strings to compare against each other.

Description

The compare getter function returns a number indicating how string1 and string2 compare to each other according to the sort order of this Collator object: a negative value if string1 comes before string2; a positive value if string1 comes after string2; 0 if they are considered equal.

Examples

Using compare for array sort

Use the compare getter function for sorting arrays. Note that the function is bound to the collator from which it was obtained, so it can be passed directly to Array.prototype.sort().

var a = ['Offenbach', 'Österreich', 'Odenwald'];
var collator = new Intl.Collator('de-u-co-phonebk');
a.sort(collator.compare);
console.log(a.join(', '));
// → "Odenwald, Österreich, Offenbach"

Using compare for array search

Use the compare getter function for finding matching strings in arrays:

var a = ['Congrès', 'congres', 'Assemblée', 'poisson'];
var collator = new Intl.Collator('fr', { usage: 'search', sensitivity: 'base' });
var s = 'congres';
var matches = a.filter(v => collator.compare(v, s) === 0);
console.log(matches.join(', '));
// → "Congrès, congres"

Specifications

Specification

ECMAScript Internationalization API (ECMA-402)The definition of 'Intl.Collator.prototype.compare' in that specification.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
`compare`	Chrome Full support 24	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 29	IE Full support 11	Opera Full support 15	Safari Full support 10	WebView Android Full support 4.4	Chrome Android Full support 25	Firefox Android Full support 56	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 10	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5	nodejs Full support 0.12 Notes' Full support 0.12 Notes' Notes' Before version 13.0.0, only the locale data for `en-US` is available by default. See the `Collator()` constructor for more details.

Legend

Full support: Full support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.