How can I sort a multidimensional array in PHP by multiple columns using `array_multisort`?

Sorting Multidimensional Arrays by Multiple Columns

Sorting a multidimensional array can be a challenging task, especially when considering multiple criteria. Fortunately, PHP offers an elegant solution in the form of the array_multisort function.

To sort a multidimensional array, we need to extract the required columns and pass them to array_multisort. Each column is sorted independently, with the sort order specified as SORT_ASC or SORT_DESC.

For instance, given the following input array:

$array = [
    ['ID' => 1, 'title' => 'Boring Meeting',  'date_start' => '2010-07-30', 'event_type' => 'meeting', 'state' => 'new-york'],
    ['ID' => 2, 'title' => 'Find My Stapler', 'date_start' => '2010-07-22', 'event_type' => 'meeting', 'state' => 'new-york'],
    ['ID' => 3, 'title' => 'Mario Party',     'date_start' => '2010-07-22', 'event_type' => 'party',   'state' => 'new-york'],
    ['ID' => 4, 'title' => 'Duct Tape Party', 'date_start' => '2010-07-28', 'event_type' => 'party',   'state' => 'california']
];

To sort by state, then event_type, and finally date_start, we would use the following code:

# extract columns
$state = array_column($array, 'state');
$event_type = array_column($array, 'event_type');
$date_start = array_column($array, 'date_start');

# sort by state desc, event_type asc, date_start asc
array_multisort($state, SORT_DESC, $event_type, SORT_ASC, $date_start, SORT_ASC, $array);

PHP 5.5.0 introduces a simplified syntax using array_column:

array_multisort(
    array_column($array, 'state'), SORT_DESC,
    array_column($array, 'event_type'),      SORT_ASC,
    $array
);

As a result, the sorted array looks like:

[
    ['ID' => 4, 'title' => 'Duct Tape Party', 'date_start' => '2010-07-28', 'event_type' => 'party',   'state' => 'california'],
    ['ID' => 3, 'title' => 'Mario Party',     'date_start' => '2010-07-22', 'event_type' => 'party',   'state' => 'new-york'],
    ['ID' => 2, 'title' => 'Find My Stapler', 'date_start' => '2010-07-22', 'event_type' => 'meeting', 'state' => 'new-york'],
    ['ID' => 1, 'title' => 'Boring Meeting',  'date_start' => '2010-07-30', 'event_type' => 'meeting', 'state' => 'new-york'],
];

By utilizing array_multisort, we effectively sorted the multidimensional array based on multiple columns, providing a flexible and powerful solution for data organization and retrieval.

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