Simple Array.sort() bug?

[macdonjo]

var cdCollection:Array = ["Tuskegee","Love Is A Four Letter Word","21","California 37","Up All Night"];
var cdSorted:Array = new Array();

cdSorted = cdCollection;
cdSorted.sort();

trace(cdCollection);
trace(cdSorted);

Why is cdCollection sorted? I don't want it sorted.

[ASWC]

It's of course not a bug at all. It's just that you don't know how to work with object types and references. When you declare an array, storing that array object in different references doesn't create copies of that array but just points to the same array constantly. In your code cdCollection is not sorted at all or even cdSorted for that matter because those are only variables, references to an array object. What is sorted is an array object that your two variables, cdSorted and cdCollection point to. Calling sort on cdCollection or cdSorted does the same thing cos they both point to the same array.

[macdonjo]

Ok, so how do I do what I wanted?
I want cdSorted to be sorted and cdCollection to be left untouched.

[ASWC]

Originally Posted by macdonjo

I want cdSorted to be sorted and cdCollection to be left untouched.

To do that you need to work with another array so that the first one is not touched by whatever you do with the second one. There's an easy way to duplicate an array which creates a copy of an existing one:

var cdCollection:Array = ["Tuskegee","Love Is A Four Letter Word","21","California 37","Up All Night"];
var cdSorted:Array;

cdSorted = cdCollection.concat();//concat without arguments creates a copy
cdSorted.sort();

trace(cdCollection);
trace(cdSorted);

[macdonjo]

Thanks, I found the code.. copiedArray = myArray.slice();
And that seems to be working great
Thanks for your help