This function implements a sort algorithm that orders alphanumeric strings in the way a human being would. This is described as a "natural ordering". An example of the difference between this algorithm and the regular computer string sorting algorithms (used in sort()) can be seen below:
The code above will generate the following output:
Standard sorting
Array
(
[0] => img1.png
[1] => img10.png
[2] => img12.png
[3] => img2.png
)
Natural order sorting
Array
(
[3] => img1.png
[2] => img2.png
[1] => img10.png
[0] => img12.png
) |
Note: If you're wanting to maintain index/value associations, consider using usort($arr, 'strnatcmp').
See also natcasesort(), strnatcmp(), and strnatcasecmp().