2008/10/30 Chandu Chandu <chandu_750 / yahoo.com>: > Hi, Everyone I am a newbie to ruby.... > > just started with some examples > > i have array > > date = ['12/09/2007','06/06/2004','10/06/2005'] This is not an array of dates - it's an array of strings. > i wanted to sort dates in ascending order i.e > ['06/06/2004','10/06/2005','12/09/2007'] > > tried using > > p data.sort > > could any one explain me whether there is built in class or need to > break tha date string If these are dates you should use Date. irb(main):005:0> date = ['12/09/2007','06/06/2004','10/06/2005'] => ["12/09/2007", "06/06/2004", "10/06/2005"] irb(main):006:0> real = date.map {|s| Date.parse s} => [#<Date: 4908887/2,0,2299161>, #<Date: 4906325/2,0,2299161>, #<Date: 4907299/2,0,2299161>] irb(main):007:0> puts real.sort 2004-06-06 2005-10-06 2007-12-09 => nil If for some serious reason you cannot use Date you should at least sort by Date: irb(main):009:0> puts date.sort_by {|s| Date.parse s} 06/06/2004 10/06/2005 12/09/2007 => nil irb(main):010:0> You need to require 'date' for this to work. Kind regards robert -- remember.guy do |as, often| as.you_can - without end