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How does `undefined` and `null` sorted in `Array.prototype.sort` function

I have already covered basic sorting behavior of Array.prototype.sort function in JS in a blog post.

Sort function is not straightforward due to some internal interpretation on default sort function. Also, its default behavior on any type is to convert to string and then compare.

On the same lines, null and undefined are treated differently.

In default implementation (no custom sort function)

  • undefined is handled as a primitive as they are ignored and sorted to the end.
  • Sorting will convert null to the string “null” which will appear somewhere in the middle of the alphabet.

Published Aug 27, 2019

Web/Product Engineer.