[FIXED] Sort strings in an array based on length

Issue

I have the below program for sorting Strings based on length. I want to print the shortest element first. I don't want to use Comparator or any API to do this. Where I am going wrong?

public class SortArrayElements {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String[] arr = new String[]{"Fan","dexter","abc","fruit","apple","banana"};
        String[] sortedArr = new String[arr.length];

        for(int i=0;i<sortedArr.length;i++)
        {           
            sortedArr[i] = compareArrayElements(arr);                       
        }

        System.out.println("The strings in the sorted order of length are: ");
        for(String sortedArray:sortedArr)
        {
            System.out.println(sortedArray);
        }
    }

    public static String compareArrayElements(String[] arr) {
        String temp = null;
        for(int i=0;i<arr.length-1;i++)
        {
            temp = new String();
            if(arr[i].length() > arr[i+1].length())
                temp = arr[i+1];
            else
                temp = arr[i];
        }
        return temp;
    }
}

Solution

If you really want to learn Java: use a Comparator. Any other way is bad Java code.

You can however rewrite the Comparator system if you want, it will teach you about proper code structuring.

For your actual code, here are some hints:

• Using the proper algorithm is much more important than the Language you use to code. Good algorithms are always the same, no matter the language.

• Do never do new in loops, unless you actually need to create new objects. The GC says "thanks".

• Change the compareArrayElements function to accept a minimum size and have it return the smallest String with at least minimum size.

• You could cut out those Strings that you have considered to be the smallest (set them to null), this will however modify the original array.

Answered By - TwoThe
Answer Checked By - Pedro (JavaFixing Volunteer)