Need help using qsort with an array of structs

Here is an example of using qsort for an array of structs in C

/* qsort example */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

typedef struct {
    int price;
    int id;
} order;
order list[6];
int i = 0;

int compare (const void * a, const void * b)
{

  order *orderA = (order *)a;
  order *orderB = (order *)b;

  return ( orderB->price - orderA->price );
}

int main ()
{
    srand ( time(NULL) );

    printf("Before sorting\n");
    for(i=0; i<6; i++){ 
        list[i].price = rand()%10;
        list[i].id = i; 
        printf ("Order id = %d Price = %d \n",list[i].id, list[i].price);           
    }
    printf("AFTER sorting\n");
    int n;
    qsort (list, 6, sizeof(order), compare);
    for (n=0; n<6; n++)
         printf ("Order id = %d Price = %d \n",list[n].id, list[n].price);          
    return 0;
}

hope it helps

katerina dimitris

(all regards to pitsi)

Your Soc should almost certainly not be of type double, but anyway here's an example of what a compare function needs to return:

int compare(const void *p1, const void *p2)
{
    const struct profile *elem1 = p1;    
    const struct profile *elem2 = p2;

   if (elem1->soc < elem2->soc)
      return -1;
   else if (elem1->soc > elem2->soc)
      return 1;
   else
      return 0;
}

Thanks for pointing out the const void *.

Here is a complete example (archived): Sorting Structures with the C qsort() Function

The strict version of a comparator takes two constant void pointers:

int compare(const void *v1, const void *v2)
{
    const struct profile *p1 = v1;
    const struct profile *p2 = v2;
    if (p1->gender > p2->gender)
        return(+1);
    else if (p1->gender < p2->gender)
        return(-1);
    else if (p1->soc > p2->soc)
        return(+1);
    else if (p1->soc < p2->soc)
        return(-1);
    else
        return(0);
}

This compares the gender field first, then the soc field. This is how you handle any multipart comparison.

To sort the array, use qsort() and pass a comparison function.

Here is one that produces the correct result for all possible values of the price member:

typedef struct profile {
    char gender[1];
    double soc;
    int price;
    ...
} PROFILE;

int compare_price(const void *a, const void *b) {
    const PROFILE *oa = a;
    const PROFILE *ob = b;

    return (oa->price > ob->price) - (oa->price < ob->price);
}

int compare_soc(const void *a, const void *b) {
    const PROFILE *oa = a;
    const PROFILE *ob = b;

    return (oa->soc > ob->soc) - (oa->soc < ob->soc);
}

Notes:

• the simple subtraction of values produces incorrect results if the difference does not fit in the int type. For example -2 and INT_MAX cannot be correctly compared with the subtraction method. It would not work for floating point values either.

• the above method can be used for all comparable types, including double except for NaN.

If you wish to handle NaN, here is how to group them at the end:

#include <math.h>

int compare_soc_nan_at_the_end(const void *a, const void *b) {
    const PROFILE *oa = a;
    const PROFILE *ob = b;

    if (isnan(oa->soc)) {
        return isnan(ob->soc) ? 0 : 1;
    } else
    if (isnan(ob->soc)) {
        return -1;
    } else {
        return (oa->soc > ob->soc) - (oa->soc < ob->soc);
    }
}