title: stableSort tags: array,sort,advanced,intermediate

Performs stable sorting of an array, preserving the initial indexes of items when their values are the same. Does not mutate the original array, but returns a new array instead.

Use Array.prototype.map() to pair each element of the input array with its corresponding index. Use Array.prototype.sort() and a compare function to sort the list, preserving their initial order if the items compared are equal. Use Array.prototype.map() to convert back to the initial array items.

const stableSort = <T = any>(arr: T[], compare: (a: T, b: T) => number) =>
  arr
    .map((item, index) => ({ item, index }))
    .sort((a, b) => compare(a.item, b.item) || a.index - b.index)
    .map(({ item }) => item);

const arr = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
const stable = stableSort(arr, () => 0); // [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]