Sorting dilemma

[blackraven1425]

I need to sort objects (called items) in an ArrayList by a given field (name, price, etc). What is the easiest way to do this? I'm not sure how to write a comparator, if Collections.sort is the easiest method. Then that becomes my question: how do I write a comparator that changes which field to compare depending on a value?

[Ganon11]

Define a method called compareTo in your items class, and compare them that way. Then declare that your items class implements the Comparable interface, and Collections.sort should work just fine.

[blackraven1425]

But my problem is, how do I change which value to check against? There's only one argument for compareTo, and I think I'd need another to show which value to check against. How would I do this part of the problem.

[Ganon11]

You could have a static variable in your class indicating which value to compare between, assuming every instance of item will be compared by the same value at any time.

[blackraven1425]

thanks, i didnt think of that haha. that helps alot!