Javascript Sorting By Algorithm, jquery maybe

Question

Okay, I am trying to create a sorting application but, its kinda busting my mind. Maybe because of thinking too much.

What I wanted

1. I want to sort values from an array, maybe using bubble sort
2. I want to push each iteration to <tr> of a table
3. and be able to know which values has been replaced

What must happen

1. Each iteration, I will get a list of values
2. each list will highlight the values affected

What I currently have

var sort = {
    init : function() {
        sort.vars.$oldList = [6,4,7,1,8];
        sort.play.bubble();
    }
}

sort.vars =  {
    $oldList : new Array(),
    $newList : new Array()
}

sort.play = {
    bubble : function() {
        var list = sort.vars.$oldList;
        var n = list.length;
        var isSorted = false;
        while(!isSorted) {
            var tmp, i;
            isSorted = true;
            for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
                if (list[i] > list[i+1]) {
                    tmp = list[i];
                    list[i] = list[i+1];
                    list[i+1] = tmp;
                    isSorted = false;
                }
                sort.ui.pushtToTable(list);
            }
        }        
    }
}

sort.ui = {
    pushtToTable : function(list) {
        $.each(list, function(n, val){
            $('tr').append('<td>' + val);
        })
    }
}

$(document).ready(function(){
    sort.init();
})

If possible I wanted to display values one by one, maybe setting a timeout, right?

Answer 1

Yes, setTimeout is a good idea if you want to "see" the algorithm's progress. However, setTimeout only accepts functions as arguments, so each iteration of the sorting algorithm has to be performed in a separate function. See the following code for an example (the code doesn't produce output in each iteration, instead it "animates" the swapping action - but I'm sure you can easily adjust this to fit your needs).

DEMO (JSFiddle)

var SORT = function(type, list, selector){
    var container, containerTr, animSteps = [];
    // Show all elements in the container
    var printArray = function(list){
        var str = ["<table>"], i = 0, l = list.length;
        for (i; i < l; ++i) {
            str.push("<tr><td>", list[i], "</td></tr>");
        }
        str.push("</table>");
        container.html(str.join(""));
    };
    // This is the interesting part... ;)
    var swap = function(list, i1, i2) {
        var tmp = list[i1];
        list[i1] = list[i2];
        list[i2] = tmp;
        // Add 3 functions for each swapping action:
        // 1. highlight elements, 2. swap, 3. remove highlight
        animSteps.push(function(){
            containerTr.eq(i1).add(containerTr.eq(i2)).addClass("highlight");
        }, function(){
            var tmp = containerTr.eq(i1).text();
            containerTr.eq(i1).text(containerTr.eq(i2).text());
            containerTr.eq(i2).text(tmp);
        }, function(){
            containerTr.eq(i1).add(containerTr.eq(i2)).removeClass("highlight");
        });
    };
    var animation = function(){
        // Execute all iteration functions one after another
        if (animSteps.length) {
            setTimeout(function(){
                animSteps.splice(0,1)[0]();
                animation();
            }, 250);
        }
    };

    // Collection of sorting algorithms
    var algorithms = {
        bubblesort: function(list) {
            for (var n = list.length; n > 1; --n) {
                for (var i = 0; i < n-1; ++i) {
                    if (list[i] > list[i+1]) {
                        swap(list, i, i+1);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        // Add more algorithms using "swap" here...
    };

    if (algorithms[type] != undefined) {
        container = $(selector);
        printArray(list);
        containerTr = container.find("tr");
        algorithms[type](list);
        this.sorted = list;
        animation();
    }
};

// Usage:
var s = new SORT("bubblesort", [5,8,2,4,1,9,7,3,0,6], "#container");
console.log(s.sorted);    //the sorted array