PowerShell Script to Sort Array Easily

Use $sortedArray = $array | Sort-Object to sort an array in PowerShell; this command outputs the array elements in ascending order.

Examples

Input[5, 3, 8, 1]

Output[1, 3, 5, 8]

Input['banana', 'apple', 'cherry']

Output['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']

Input[]

Output[]

How to Think About It

To sort an array in PowerShell, think of passing the array through a sorting command that compares each element and rearranges them in order. PowerShell's Sort-Object cmdlet does this by taking the array as input and returning a new sorted array.

Algorithm

1

Get the input array.

2

Pass the array to the sorting command.

3

The sorting command compares elements and orders them ascendingly.

4

Return the sorted array.

Code

powershell

$array = 5, 3, 8, 1
$sortedArray = $array | Sort-Object
Write-Output $sortedArray

Output

1
3
5
8

Dry Run

Let's trace sorting the array [5, 3, 8, 1] through the code

1

Initial array

The array is [5, 3, 8, 1]

2

Sort-Object processes array

It compares elements and rearranges them in ascending order

3

Output sorted array

The sorted array is [1, 3, 5, 8]

Step	Array State
Initial	[5, 3, 8, 1]
After sorting	[1, 3, 5, 8]

Why This Works

Step 1: Input array

The array holds the values we want to sort.

Step 2: Sort-Object cmdlet

Sort-Object takes the array and compares each element to order them.

Step 3: Output

The sorted array is returned and printed with Write-Output.

Alternative Approaches

Using .NET Array Sort method

powershell

$array = 5, 3, 8, 1
[Array]::Sort($array)
Write-Output $array

This sorts the array in place but works only on fixed arrays, not on PowerShell collections.

Sorting descending

powershell

$array = 5, 3, 8, 1
$sortedDesc = $array | Sort-Object -Descending
Write-Output $sortedDesc

Sorts the array in descending order using the <code>-Descending</code> flag.

Complexity: O(n log n) time, O(n) space

Time Complexity

Sorting uses comparison-based algorithms which typically run in O(n log n) time, where n is the number of elements.

Space Complexity

Sorting creates a new sorted array, so it uses O(n) extra space.

Which Approach is Fastest?

Using Sort-Object is simple and efficient for most cases; .NET's [Array]::Sort can be faster but is less flexible.

Approach	Time	Space	Best For
Sort-Object	O(n log n)	O(n)	General use, easy syntax
[Array]::Sort	O(n log n)	O(1)	In-place sorting of fixed arrays
Sort-Object -Descending	O(n log n)	O(n)	Sorting in reverse order