Sorting a table of functions by index, but how?
I would like to make a table of functions. Functions have their indexes represented as a level id (e.g. 100, 101, 200, 201, 202...) to change some level properties (lighting, gravity ect) So here is an example:
local functionsTable = {}
functionsTable[100] = function()
print("This is a function number 100")
end
functionsTable[101] = function()
print("This is a function number 101")
end
functionsTable[201] = function()
print("This is a function number 201")
end
You might ask, what's the problem? And a problem comes whenever a player connects to a server, and to apply all property changes in the past, my client script loops trough all of the functions in a table until it reaches current player's level. For example:
local functionsTable = {}
local plrLevelId = 200
functionsTable[100] = function()
print("This is a function number 100")
end
functionsTable[101] = function()
print("This is a function number 101")
end
functionsTable[201] = function()
print("This is a function number 201")
end
for i, v in pairs(functionsTable) do
print("Index " .. tostring(i))
if i <= plrLevelId then
functionsTable[i]() -- calling a function of previous levels to apply changes
else
print("Skipped " .. tostring(i) .. " - done")
break -- all functions of the previous and current level have been applied
end
end
--[[
Output:
Index 101
This is a function number 101
Index 201
Skipped 201 - done
Expected output:
Index 100
This is a function number 100
Index 101
This is a function number 101
Index 201
Skipped 201 - done
]]
Not only it skips a function that supposed to called in the order, but it called a function number 101, while function number 100 should be called first. What magic is this? How to go through all functions in a correct order that I assigned by index? Thank you in advance
1 answer
pairs loops in randomized order, thus it can sometime loop through 201 first but sometime through 101 first. Your solution is ipairs which goes strictly by order, what you do is get all the indices, sort them and loop through them. Since ipairs loops by incrementing the index by one, it can't loop 101 -> 200, it will break instantly, it is expected to loop like 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 ..., that's the reason you create list of indices.
local functionsTable = {}
local plrLevelId = 200
functionsTable[100] = function()
print("This is a function number 100")
end
functionsTable[101] = function()
print("This is a function number 101")
end
functionsTable[201] = function()
print("This is a function number 201")
end
local function getIndices(tbl)
local indices = {}
for i in pairs(tbl) do
table.insert(indices, i)
end
return indices
end
local indices = getIndices(functionsTable)
table.sort(indices)
for _, i in ipairs(indices) do
print("Index " .. i)
if i <= plrLevelId then
functionsTable[i]()
else
print("Skipped " .. i .. " - done")
break
end
end
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