From: Jeremy Bopp <jeremy@...>
Date: 2010-09-24T00:27:45+09:00
Subject: Re: Sorting problem with an Array of Arrays

On 9/22/2010 11:30 PM, Paul wrote:
> Hi Jeremy, thanks for the reply.
> 
> On Sep 22, 6:54 pm, Jeremy Bopp <jer...@bopp.net> wrote:
> 
>>> You could define a class to represent each of your inner array elements.
>>>  That class could then define the <=> method in which you could compare
>>> each item in the order you desire.  Then your outer array, consisting of
>>> instances of your class, could be trivially sorted with Array#sort.
> 
> I'm afraid I don't understand what you are saying here.  All I
> understood was "could be trivially sorted with Array#sort."  I don't
> understand classes.

Classes are rather a central concept in Ruby, so it would be a really
good idea to learn about them; however, they are not necessary here.
I'll keep this short and say that using an array of arrays such as what
you have here can make your code cryptic and brittle as it grows and
ages.  Using a class to represent your inner array items will help avoid
these issues. :-)

I see that you have more details about your problem in a later reply, so
I'll see about addressing more issues there.

-Jeremy