The String localeCompare() method
Find out all about the JavaScript localeCompare() method of a string
This method compares a string to another, returning a number (negative, 0, positive) that tells if the current string is lower, equal or greater than the string passed as argument, according to the locale.
The locale is determined by the current locale, or you can pass it as a second argument:
'a'.localeCompare('à') //-1
'a'.localeCompare('à', 'it-IT') //-1
The most common use case is for ordering arrays:
['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'].sort((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b))
where one would typically use
['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'].sort((a, b) => (a > b) ? 1 : -1)
with the difference that localeCompare()
allows us to make this compatible with alphabets used all over the globe.
An object passed as third argument can be used to pass additional options. Look for all the possible values of those options on MDN.
→ I wrote 17 books to help you become a better developer, download them all at $0 cost by joining my newsletter
→ JOIN MY CODING BOOTCAMP, an amazing cohort course that will be a huge step up in your coding career - covering React, Next.js - next edition February 2025