WPF list<t> sort - wpf

Question

my first post here.
i have a list"<"frameworkelement> that i'm populating with a select process. each frameworkelement has a uid that holds its ZOrder.
i need to sort these by the ZOrder from lowest to highest. i can get this using a listbox and adding the Uid's like this:
//Add Object Uid's
ListBox lstTempOrder = new ListBox();
foreach(FrameworkElement feObject in MainWindow.Data.SelectedObjects)
{
lstTempOrder.Items.Add(feObject.Uid);
}
//Reorder from 0 to above of the ZIndexes
lstTempOrder.Items.SortDescriptions.Add(new System.ComponentModel.SortDescription("", System.ComponentModel.ListSortDirection.Ascending));
but i need to do this with a List"<"FrameWorkElement> and Sort.
Here is the code where i populate the List"<"T> (SelectedObjects and CopyObjectsCollections are List"<"FrameWorkElement>" lists.
foreach(FrameworkElement feObject in MainWindow.Data.SelectedObjects)
{
MainWindow.Data.CopyObjectsCollection.Add(feObject);
}
i've looked at CollectionViewSource and IComparer but i can't really make any sense of it.

Answer 1

I might have miss-read your question, but if you just want to sort your List<T>, then why don't you just use the LinQ OrderBy method?
MainWindow.Data.CopyObjectsCollection =
MainWindow.Data.CopyObjectsCollection.OrderBy(f => f.Uid).ToList();
If that sorts it the wrong way round for your requirements, then you can use this:
MainWindow.Data.CopyObjectsCollection =
MainWindow.Data.CopyObjectsCollection.OrderByDescending(f => f.Uid).ToList();
UPDATE >>>
OrderBy is a LinQ extension method. Add using System.Linq; at the top of your class to use it. f relates to an instance of your FrameworkElement object. The above lambda expression basically means 'sort using the Uid property values'.
UPDATE 2 >>>
The OrderBy method does not alter the original collection... that is why my example sets the collection to the result of the OrderBy method. See this basic example:
List<FrameworkElement> elements = new List<FrameworkElement>();
elements.Add(new FrameworkElement() { Uid = "Object1003-1" });
elements.Add(new FrameworkElement() { Uid = "Object1002-2" });
elements.Add(new FrameworkElement() { Uid = "Object1002-1" });
elements.Add(new FrameworkElement() { Uid = "Object1001-1" });
elements.Add(new FrameworkElement() { Uid = "Object1001-3" });
elements.Add(new FrameworkElement() { Uid = "Object1001-2" });
string result = string.Join(", ", elements.Select(f => f.Uid));
elements = elements.OrderBy(f => f.Uid).ToList();
string orderedResult = string.Join(", ", elements.Select(f => f.Uid));
By comparing the values of result and orderedResult you can see that this orders them perfectly.
UPDATE 3 (and hopefully the LAST one) >>>
Dude, you need to learn about Lambda expressions... take a look at the Lambda Expressions (C# Programming Guide) page at MSDN for more information.
elements = elements.OrderBy(f => f.Uid).ToList();
The f in this Lambda expression is declared in this expression before the '=>'. It is fairly standard to name these parameters with one letter like Exceptions, but we could name it anything:
elements = elements.OrderBy(frameworkElement => frameworkElement.Uid).ToList();