You can't sort the keys of a hash - except so far as you can get the list of keys in the hash, and you can sort a list. foreach( sort keys %foo ) does exactly that - it's sorting a list of scalars that you've constructed, and it's iterating through the list.
If you did #1, you wouldn't have a hash that has sorted keys. You'd just have a second copy of the hash, whose keys would likely come out in the same order as the first hash :) If your subroutine needs to process the list of keys in sorted order, then you can build that sorted list (in C, using a sort routine as mentioned) and use it for indexing into the hash. If it's not important to process the keys in sorted order, then just skip the sorting entirely. Randy > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 10:13 AM > To: inline@perl.org > Subject: sort() function > > Hi Guys > > I am re-implementing a perl subroutine in C and this perl-subroutine > sorts the key of a hash given to it as input before using it. > This hash > usually hold about 3000-4000 keys. So I am wondering what to do here: > > 1) Create another hash in perl-space and sort its keys using the perl > sort() function and then pass that hash as input > 2) Write my own sort function or, even better, use one from a better > source like the Gnu Scientific Library or another third party library. > > So, what I am basically asking is if it is worth replaceing > perl's sort > function with another one in inlined space or not ? > > Thanks ! > Nitin > >
