From: "johny.lam" <johny.lam@...>
Date: 2007-07-19T17:30:01+09:00
Subject: confused, need help with a sorting program

I was doing the recursive sorting program in Chapter 10 of Chris
Pine's learning to program and i wrote this:

def sort some_array
recursive_sort some_array, []
end

def recursive_sort unsorted_array, sorted_array
  if unsorted_array.length != 0
    0.upto(unsorted_array.length-2) do |i|
      if (unsorted_array[i+1] != nil) and (unsorted_array[i] <
unsorted_array[i+1])
        unsorted_array[i], unsorted_array[i+1] = unsorted_array[i+1],
unsorted_array[i]
      end
    end
    sorted_array.push(unsorted_array.last)
    unsorted_array.pop
    sort(unsorted_array)
  end

  if unsorted_array.length==0
    puts sorted_array
  end
end

word=[]

puts 'Input Words'
while word.last!=''
word.push gets.chomp.downcase
end

sort(word)

---------------------------------------------------------

what i don't get is that this program sorts the words into reverse
alphabetical order.
but if i switch the less than sign in "if (unsorted_array[i+1] != nil)
and (unsorted_array[i] < unsorted_array[i+1])" to a greater than sign
the program works correctly.

what i am trying to is move the smallest word into the sorted_array
but if i use the greater than sign wouldn't the move the biggest word
into the sorted_array?

i'm really new to this, so please pardon my misunderstanding.