How to sort data in R
In this recipe, we will learn how to sort data in R with the help of order(), arrange() and setorder() functions in a detailed manner.
How to sort in R?
In this tutorial, we will learn-
• How to sort data using the order() function in R?
• How to sort data using arrange() function in R?
• How to sort data using the setorder() function in R?
The simplest way to perform sorting in R is by making use of the “order()” function. Order function allows the user to sort data-frames, matrices, or vectors in ascending or descending manner.
Syntax: order (x, decreasing = TRUE or FALSE, na.last = TRUE or FLASE, method = c ("auto", "shell", "quick", "radix"))
Parameters:
x -> dataframe or matrix or vector
decreasing -> if TRUE then sorts in descending order otherwise ascending order
na.last -> if TRUE then na values are placed at last otherwise na values are placed first
method -> specifies the sorting method
Let us see some examples –
Code:
#creating a demo vector
v <- c(1,5,6,9,2,3,4,7,8)
#ordering the vector according to its index
order(v)
Output: [1] 1 5 6 7 2 3 8 9 4
In this case, order() will sort the given numbers in ascending order based on their index. Since number 1 is the smallest, it has an index of one, number 2 has an index of five, number 3 has an index of six, and the process follows the same pattern.
Let us now sort the data in a way that the actual values are printed in ascending order.
Code:
#ordering actual values
v[order(v)]
Output:
[1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
In this case, the values were ordered using order() according to the index first and then these values were accessed by v[value]
Let us now sort a data frame –
We will make use of the mtcars dataset that is available in R.
Code:
#sorting using the mtcars dataset
attach(mtcars)
#sorting by mpg
mtcars[order(mpg),]
Output:
mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
Cadillac Fleetwood 10.4 8 472.0 205 2.93 5.250 17.98 0 0 3 4
Lincoln Continental 10.4 8 460.0 215 3.00 5.424 17.82 0 0 3 4
Camaro Z28 13.3 8 350.0 245 3.73 3.840 15.41 0 0 3 4
Duster 360 14.3 8 360.0 245 3.21 3.570 15.84 0 0 3 4
Chrysler Imperial 14.7 8 440.0 230 3.23 5.345 17.42 0 0 3 4
Maserati Bora 15.0 8 301.0 335 3.54 3.570 14.60 0 1 5 8
Merc 450SLC 15.2 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.780 18.00 0 0 3 3
AMC Javelin 15.2 8 304.0 150 3.15 3.435 17.30 0 0 3 2
Dodge Challenger 15.5 8 318.0 150 2.76 3.520 16.87 0 0 3 2
Ford Pantera L 15.8 8 351.0 264 4.22 3.170 14.50 0 1 5 4
Merc 450SE 16.4 8 275.8 180 3.07 4.070 17.40 0 0 3 3
Merc 450SL 17.3 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.730 17.60 0 0 3 3
Merc 280C 17.8 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.90 1 0 4 4
Valiant 18.1 6 225.0 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1
Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360.0 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
Merc 280 19.2 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.30 1 0 4 4
Pontiac Firebird 19.2 8 400.0 175 3.08 3.845 17.05 0 0 3 2
Ferrari Dino 19.7 6 145.0 175 3.62 2.770 15.50 0 1 5 6
Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258.0 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
Volvo 142E 21.4 4 121.0 109 4.11 2.780 18.60 1 1 4 2
Toyota Corona 21.5 4 120.1 97 3.70 2.465 20.01 1 0 3 1
Datsun 710 22.8 4 108.0 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
Merc 230 22.8 4 140.8 95 3.92 3.150 22.90 1 0 4 2
Merc 240D 24.4 4 146.7 62 3.69 3.190 20.00 1 0 4 2
Porsche 914-2 26.0 4 120.3 91 4.43 2.140 16.70 0 1 5 2
Fiat X1-9 27.3 4 79.0 66 4.08 1.935 18.90 1 1 4 1
Honda Civic 30.4 4 75.7 52 4.93 1.615 18.52 1 1 4 2
Lotus Europa 30.4 4 95.1 113 3.77 1.513 16.90 1 1 5 2
Fiat 128 32.4 4 78.7 66 4.08 2.200 19.47 1 1 4 1
Toyota Corolla 33.9 4 71.1 65 4.22 1.835 19.90 1 1 4 1
Code:
#sorting by mpg (descending) and cyl (ascending)
mtcars[order(-mpg, cyl),]
Output:
mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
Toyota Corolla 33.9 4 71.1 65 4.22 1.835 19.90 1 1 4 1
Fiat 128 32.4 4 78.7 66 4.08 2.200 19.47 1 1 4 1
Honda Civic 30.4 4 75.7 52 4.93 1.615 18.52 1 1 4 2
Lotus Europa 30.4 4 95.1 113 3.77 1.513 16.90 1 1 5 2
Fiat X1-9 27.3 4 79.0 66 4.08 1.935 18.90 1 1 4 1
Porsche 914-2 26.0 4 120.3 91 4.43 2.140 16.70 0 1 5 2
Merc 240D 24.4 4 146.7 62 3.69 3.190 20.00 1 0 4 2
Datsun 710 22.8 4 108.0 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
Merc 230 22.8 4 140.8 95 3.92 3.150 22.90 1 0 4 2
Toyota Corona 21.5 4 120.1 97 3.70 2.465 20.01 1 0 3 1
Volvo 142E 21.4 4 121.0 109 4.11 2.780 18.60 1 1 4 2
Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258.0 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
Ferrari Dino 19.7 6 145.0 175 3.62 2.770 15.50 0 1 5 6
Merc 280 19.2 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.30 1 0 4 4
Pontiac Firebird 19.2 8 400.0 175 3.08 3.845 17.05 0 0 3 2
Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360.0 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
Valiant 18.1 6 225.0 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1
Merc 280C 17.8 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.90 1 0 4 4
Merc 450SL 17.3 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.730 17.60 0 0 3 3
Merc 450SE 16.4 8 275.8 180 3.07 4.070 17.40 0 0 3 3
Ford Pantera L 15.8 8 351.0 264 4.22 3.170 14.50 0 1 5 4
Dodge Challenger 15.5 8 318.0 150 2.76 3.520 16.87 0 0 3 2
Merc 450SLC 15.2 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.780 18.00 0 0 3 3
AMC Javelin 15.2 8 304.0 150 3.15 3.435 17.30 0 0 3 2
Maserati Bora 15.0 8 301.0 335 3.54 3.570 14.60 0 1 5 8
Chrysler Imperial 14.7 8 440.0 230 3.23 5.345 17.42 0 0 3 4
Duster 360 14.3 8 360.0 245 3.21 3.570 15.84 0 0 3 4
Camaro Z28 13.3 8 350.0 245 3.73 3.840 15.41 0 0 3 4
Cadillac Fleetwood 10.4 8 472.0 205 2.93 5.250 17.98 0 0 3 4
Lincoln Continental 10.4 8 460.0 215 3.00 5.424 17.82 0 0 3 4
We can also make use of arrange() function from the dplyr package for sorting data frame in R. We will make use of the same mtcars dataset in the example.
If you do not have the package installed, you can do so using the “install.packages()” command.
Code:
#importing the library
library(dplyr)
#sorting by mpg
print(arrange(mtcars,mpg))
Output:
mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
Cadillac Fleetwood 10.4 8 472.0 205 2.93 5.250 17.98 0 0 3 4
Lincoln Continental 10.4 8 460.0 215 3.00 5.424 17.82 0 0 3 4
Camaro Z28 13.3 8 350.0 245 3.73 3.840 15.41 0 0 3 4
Duster 360 14.3 8 360.0 245 3.21 3.570 15.84 0 0 3 4
Chrysler Imperial 14.7 8 440.0 230 3.23 5.345 17.42 0 0 3 4
Maserati Bora 15.0 8 301.0 335 3.54 3.570 14.60 0 1 5 8
Merc 450SLC 15.2 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.780 18.00 0 0 3 3
AMC Javelin 15.2 8 304.0 150 3.15 3.435 17.30 0 0 3 2
Dodge Challenger 15.5 8 318.0 150 2.76 3.520 16.87 0 0 3 2
Ford Pantera L 15.8 8 351.0 264 4.22 3.170 14.50 0 1 5 4
Merc 450SE 16.4 8 275.8 180 3.07 4.070 17.40 0 0 3 3
Merc 450SL 17.3 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.730 17.60 0 0 3 3
Merc 280C 17.8 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.90 1 0 4 4
Valiant 18.1 6 225.0 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1
Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360.0 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
Merc 280 19.2 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.30 1 0 4 4
Pontiac Firebird 19.2 8 400.0 175 3.08 3.845 17.05 0 0 3 2
Ferrari Dino 19.7 6 145.0 175 3.62 2.770 15.50 0 1 5 6
Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258.0 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
Volvo 142E 21.4 4 121.0 109 4.11 2.780 18.60 1 1 4 2
Toyota Corona 21.5 4 120.1 97 3.70 2.465 20.01 1 0 3 1
Datsun 710 22.8 4 108.0 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
Merc 230 22.8 4 140.8 95 3.92 3.150 22.90 1 0 4 2
Merc 240D 24.4 4 146.7 62 3.69 3.190 20.00 1 0 4 2
Porsche 914-2 26.0 4 120.3 91 4.43 2.140 16.70 0 1 5 2
Fiat X1-9 27.3 4 79.0 66 4.08 1.935 18.90 1 1 4 1
Honda Civic 30.4 4 75.7 52 4.93 1.615 18.52 1 1 4 2
Lotus Europa 30.4 4 95.1 113 3.77 1.513 16.90 1 1 5 2
Fiat 128 32.4 4 78.7 66 4.08 2.200 19.47 1 1 4 1
Toyota Corolla 33.9 4 71.1 65 4.22 1.835 19.90 1 1 4 1
The setorder() function in the data.table package also enables us to sort a data frame. Let us take an example to demonstrate this function. We will make use of the mtcars dataset again.
If you do not have the package installed, you can do so using the “install.packages()” command.
Code:
#importing the package
library(data.table)
#sorting by cyl
print(setorder(mtcars,cyl))
Output:
mpg cyl disp hp drat wt qsec vs am gear carb
Datsun 710 22.8 4 108.0 93 3.85 2.320 18.61 1 1 4 1
Merc 240D 24.4 4 146.7 62 3.69 3.190 20.00 1 0 4 2
Merc 230 22.8 4 140.8 95 3.92 3.150 22.90 1 0 4 2
Fiat 128 32.4 4 78.7 66 4.08 2.200 19.47 1 1 4 1
Honda Civic 30.4 4 75.7 52 4.93 1.615 18.52 1 1 4 2
Toyota Corolla 33.9 4 71.1 65 4.22 1.835 19.90 1 1 4 1
Toyota Corona 21.5 4 120.1 97 3.70 2.465 20.01 1 0 3 1
Fiat X1-9 27.3 4 79.0 66 4.08 1.935 18.90 1 1 4 1
Porsche 914-2 26.0 4 120.3 91 4.43 2.140 16.70 0 1 5 2
Lotus Europa 30.4 4 95.1 113 3.77 1.513 16.90 1 1 5 2
Volvo 142E 21.4 4 121.0 109 4.11 2.780 18.60 1 1 4 2
Mazda RX4 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.620 16.46 0 1 4 4
Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0 6 160.0 110 3.90 2.875 17.02 0 1 4 4
Hornet 4 Drive 21.4 6 258.0 110 3.08 3.215 19.44 1 0 3 1
Valiant 18.1 6 225.0 105 2.76 3.460 20.22 1 0 3 1
Merc 280 19.2 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.30 1 0 4 4
Merc 280C 17.8 6 167.6 123 3.92 3.440 18.90 1 0 4 4
Ferrari Dino 19.7 6 145.0 175 3.62 2.770 15.50 0 1 5 6
Hornet Sportabout 18.7 8 360.0 175 3.15 3.440 17.02 0 0 3 2
Duster 360 14.3 8 360.0 245 3.21 3.570 15.84 0 0 3 4
Merc 450SE 16.4 8 275.8 180 3.07 4.070 17.40 0 0 3 3
Merc 450SL 17.3 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.730 17.60 0 0 3 3
Merc 450SLC 15.2 8 275.8 180 3.07 3.780 18.00 0 0 3 3
Cadillac Fleetwood 10.4 8 472.0 205 2.93 5.250 17.98 0 0 3 4
Lincoln Continental 10.4 8 460.0 215 3.00 5.424 17.82 0 0 3 4
Chrysler Imperial 14.7 8 440.0 230 3.23 5.345 17.42 0 0 3 4
Dodge Challenger 15.5 8 318.0 150 2.76 3.520 16.87 0 0 3 2
AMC Javelin 15.2 8 304.0 150 3.15 3.435 17.30 0 0 3 2
Camaro Z28 13.3 8 350.0 245 3.73 3.840 15.41 0 0 3 4
Pontiac Firebird 19.2 8 400.0 175 3.08 3.845 17.05 0 0 3 2
Ford Pantera L 15.8 8 351.0 264 4.22 3.170 14.50 0 1 5 4
Maserati Bora 15.0 8 301.0 335 3.54 3.570 14.60 0 1 5 8
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