Sort the words in lexicographical order in C#

Lexicographical order means sorting strings alphabetically, similar to how words are arranged in a dictionary. In C#, there are multiple ways to sort an array of strings in lexicographical order using built-in methods and LINQ.

Syntax

Using LINQ query syntax −

var sorted = from word in array
             orderby word
             select word;

Using Array.Sort() method −

Array.Sort(array);

Using LINQ OrderBy() method −

var sorted = array.OrderBy(word => word);

Using LINQ Query Syntax

The most readable approach uses LINQ query syntax with orderby clause −

using System;
using System.Linq;

class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string[] arr = new string[] {
         "Indian",
         "Moroccon",
         "American",
         "Chinese",
         "Brazilian"
      };
      
      var sort = from a in arr
                 orderby a
                 select a;

      Console.WriteLine("Original array:");
      foreach(string word in arr) {
         Console.WriteLine(word);
      }
      
      Console.WriteLine("\nSorted in lexicographical order:");
      foreach(string res in sort) {
         Console.WriteLine(res);
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Original array:
Indian
Moroccon
American
Chinese
Brazilian

Sorted in lexicographical order:
American
Brazilian
Chinese
Indian
Moroccon

Using Array.Sort() Method

The Array.Sort() method sorts the array in-place, modifying the original array −

using System;

class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string[] countries = new string[] {
         "Germany", "France", "Italy", "Spain", "Belgium"
      };
      
      Console.WriteLine("Before sorting:");
      foreach(string country in countries) {
         Console.WriteLine(country);
      }
      
      Array.Sort(countries);
      
      Console.WriteLine("\nAfter sorting:");
      foreach(string country in countries) {
         Console.WriteLine(country);
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Before sorting:
Germany
France
Italy
Spain
Belgium

After sorting:
Belgium
France
Germany
Italy
Spain

Using LINQ OrderBy() Method

The OrderBy() method returns a new sorted sequence without modifying the original array −

using System;
using System.Linq;

class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string[] colors = new string[] {
         "Red", "Blue", "Green", "Yellow", "Purple", "Orange"
      };
      
      var sortedColors = colors.OrderBy(color => color);
      
      Console.WriteLine("Sorted colors:");
      foreach(string color in sortedColors) {
         Console.WriteLine(color);
      }
      
      Console.WriteLine("\nOriginal array unchanged:");
      foreach(string color in colors) {
         Console.WriteLine(color);
      }
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Sorted colors:
Blue
Green
Orange
Purple
Red
Yellow

Original array unchanged:
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Purple
Orange

Comparison

Conclusion

C# provides multiple ways to sort strings in lexicographical order: Array.Sort() for in-place sorting, and LINQ methods like OrderBy() and query syntax for creating new sorted sequences. Choose the method based on whether you need to preserve the original array and your performance requirements.