Java 8: Sort Employee by Name and Salary (Ascending and Descending)

Sorting a collection of employees by name and salary, both in ascending and descending order, is a common task in Java. This guide will cover how to sort a list of employees using the Comparator interface and the Stream API introduced in Java 8, including both ascending and descending orders.

Introduction
Employee Class Definition
Sorting by Name (Ascending and Descending)
Sorting by Salary (Ascending and Descending)
Sorting by Name and Salary (Ascending and Descending)
Conclusion

Introduction

In Java, sorting a collection of objects can be done using the Comparator interface and the Stream API. This guide will demonstrate how to sort a list of employees by name and salary, both in ascending and descending order.

Employee Class Definition

First, let's define the Employee class with name and salary attributes.

Example

public class Employee {
    private String name;
    private double salary;

    public Employee(String name, double salary) {
        this.name = name;
        this.salary = salary;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public double getSalary() {
        return salary;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Employee{name='" + name + "', salary=" + salary + '}';
    }
}

Sorting by Name (Ascending and Descending)

To sort a list of employees by name, you can use the Comparator interface with the Stream API.

Example (Ascending)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class SortEmployeeExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Employee> employees = new ArrayList<>();
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 50000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jane", 60000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jack", 40000));

        // Sort by name in ascending order
        List<Employee> sortedByNameAsc = employees.stream()
                .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::getName))
                .collect(Collectors.toList());

        System.out.println("Sorted by Name (Ascending):");
        sortedByNameAsc.forEach(System.out::println);
    }
}

Example (Descending)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class SortEmployeeExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Employee> employees = new ArrayList<>();
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 50000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jane", 60000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jack", 40000));

        // Sort by name in descending order
        List<Employee> sortedByNameDesc = employees.stream()
                .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::getName).reversed())
                .collect(Collectors.toList());

        System.out.println("Sorted by Name (Descending):");
        sortedByNameDesc.forEach(System.out::println);
    }
}

Explanation

The Comparator.comparing method creates a comparator that compares employees by their names.
The reversed method is used to reverse the order for descending sorting.
The sorted method sorts the stream of employees using the comparator.
The collect method collects the sorted stream into a list.

Output:

Sorted by Name (Ascending):
Employee{name='Jack', salary=40000.0}
Employee{name='Jane', salary=60000.0}
Employee{name='John', salary=50000.0}

Sorted by Name (Descending):
Employee{name='John', salary=50000.0}
Employee{name='Jane', salary=60000.0}
Employee{name='Jack', salary=40000.0}

Sorting by Salary (Ascending and Descending)

To sort a list of employees by salary, you can use the Comparator interface with the Stream API.

Example (Ascending)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class SortEmployeeExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Employee> employees = new ArrayList<>();
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 50000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jane", 60000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jack", 40000));

        // Sort by salary in ascending order
        List<Employee> sortedBySalaryAsc = employees.stream()
                .sorted(Comparator.comparingDouble(Employee::getSalary))
                .collect(Collectors.toList());

        System.out.println("Sorted by Salary (Ascending):");
        sortedBySalaryAsc.forEach(System.out::println);
    }
}

Example (Descending)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class SortEmployeeExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Employee> employees = new ArrayList<>();
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 50000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jane", 60000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jack", 40000));

        // Sort by salary in descending order
        List<Employee> sortedBySalaryDesc = employees.stream()
                .sorted(Comparator.comparingDouble(Employee::getSalary).reversed())
                .collect(Collectors.toList());

        System.out.println("Sorted by Salary (Descending):");
        sortedBySalaryDesc.forEach(System.out::println);
    }
}

Explanation

The Comparator.comparingDouble method creates a comparator that compares employees by their salaries.
The reversed method is used to reverse the order for descending sorting.
The sorted method sorts the stream of employees using the comparator.
The collect method collects the sorted stream into a list.

Output:

Sorted by Salary (Ascending):
Employee{name='Jack', salary=40000.0}
Employee{name='John', salary=50000.0}
Employee{name='Jane', salary=60000.0}

Sorted by Salary (Descending):
Employee{name='Jane', salary=60000.0}
Employee{name='John', salary=50000.0}
Employee{name='Jack', salary=40000.0}

Sorting by Name and Salary (Ascending and Descending)

To sort a list of employees first by name and then by salary, you can combine comparators using the thenComparing method.

Example (Ascending)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class SortEmployeeExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Employee> employees = new ArrayList<>();
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 50000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jane", 60000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jack", 40000));
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 45000));

        // Sort by name and then by salary in ascending order
        List<Employee> sortedByNameAndSalaryAsc = employees.stream()
                .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::getName)
                        .thenComparingDouble(Employee::getSalary))
                .collect(Collectors.toList());

        System.out.println("Sorted by Name and Salary (Ascending):");
        sortedByNameAndSalaryAsc.forEach(System.out::println);
    }
}

Example (Descending)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class SortEmployeeExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        List<Employee> employees = new ArrayList<>();
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 50000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jane", 60000));
        employees.add(new Employee("Jack", 40000));
        employees.add(new Employee("John", 45000));

        // Sort by name and then by salary in descending order
        List<Employee> sortedByNameAndSalaryDesc = employees.stream()
                .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::getName).reversed()
                        .thenComparing(Comparator.comparingDouble(Employee::getSalary).reversed()))
                .collect(Collectors.toList());

        System.out.println("Sorted by Name and Salary (Descending):");
        sortedByNameAndSalaryDesc.forEach(System.out::println);
    }
}

Explanation

The Comparator.comparing method creates a comparator that compares employees by their names.
The thenComparingDouble method adds a secondary comparator that compares employees by their salaries.
The reversed method is used to reverse the order for descending sorting.
The sorted method sorts the stream of employees using the combined comparator.
The collect method collects the sorted stream into a list.

Output:

Sorted by Name and Salary (Ascending):
Employee{name='Jack', salary=40000.0}
Employee{name='Jane', salary=60000.0}
Employee{name='John', salary=45000.0}
Employee{name='John', salary=50000.0}

Sorted by Name and Salary (Descending):
Employee{name='John', salary=50000.0}
Employee{name='John', salary=45000.0}
Employee{name='Jane', salary=60000.0}
Employee{name='Jack', salary=40000.0}

Conclusion

Sorting a list of employees by name and salary in Java 8 can be accomplished using the Comparator interface and the Stream API, both in ascending and descending order. The Comparator.comparing method provides a straightforward way to create a comparator for sorting by a single attribute, while the thenComparing method allows for sorting by multiple attributes. The reversed method can be used to sort in descending order. Depending on your specific use case and requirements, you can choose the method that best fits your needs.

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