Java Academy · Lesson

Multi-Key Sorting with thenComparing

Chain comparators with thenComparing to sort by multiple fields in order of priority.

Lesson 3 of 414 steps

Multi-Key Sorting with thenComparing is a free Java Academy lesson on CoddyKit. This is lesson 3 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Java Academy learning path, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app. The Java Academy course includes 4 lessons in total.

Multi-Key Sorting

thenComparing() chains comparators to sort by multiple fields. Primary sort first; if equal, secondary sort; and so on.

Basic thenComparing

Use thenComparing() to break ties after the primary comparator.

import java.util.*;

record Student(String name, int grade, double gpa) {}

List<Student> students = List.of(
    new Student("Alice",   10, 3.9),
    new Student("Bob",     11, 3.7),
    new Student("Charlie", 10, 3.8),
    new Student("Diana",   11, 3.7)
);

Comparator<Student> sort = Comparator.comparingInt(Student::grade)
    .thenComparingDouble(Student::gpa).reversed()
    .thenComparing(Student::name);

students.stream().sorted(sort).forEach(System.out::println);

Three-Level Sort

Chain as many thenComparing levels as needed.

record Employee(String dept, String team, String name, double salary) {}

List<Employee> employees = List.of(
    new Employee("Eng", "Backend", "Alice",   95000),
    new Employee("Eng", "Backend", "Bob",     92000),
    new Employee("Eng", "Frontend","Charlie", 88000),
    new Employee("Mkt", "Growth",  "Diana",   75000)
);

Comparator<Employee> sort = Comparator
    .comparing(Employee::dept)
    .thenComparing(Employee::team)
    .thenComparing(Comparator.comparingDouble(Employee::salary).reversed());

employees.stream().sorted(sort)
    .forEach(e -> System.out.printf("%s > %s > %s: $%.0f%n",
        e.dept(), e.team(), e.name(), e.salary()));

thenComparing with Comparator

Use the overload that accepts a Comparator when you need reversed or custom ordering for secondary keys.

Comparator<Employee> sort = Comparator
    .comparing(Employee::dept)
    .thenComparing(Comparator.comparing(Employee::salary).reversed()); // highest paid first
    // equivalent: .thenComparingDouble(Employee::salary, Comparator.reverseOrder())

Sorting with null Fields

Combine thenComparing with nullsLast/nullsFirst to handle optional fields gracefully.

record Product(String name, String category, Double rating) {}

Comparator<Product> sort = Comparator
    .comparing(Product::category, Comparator.nullsLast(Comparator.naturalOrder()))
    .thenComparing(Product::rating,  Comparator.nullsLast(Comparator.reverseOrder()))
    .thenComparing(Product::name);

Dynamic Sort Key Selection

Select the sort key at runtime based on user preference.

static Comparator<Product> sortBy(String key) {
    return switch (key) {
        case "price"    -> Comparator.comparingDouble(Product::price);
        case "name"     -> Comparator.comparing(Product::name);
        case "stock"    -> Comparator.comparingInt(Product::stock).reversed();
        default         -> Comparator.comparingDouble(Product::price);
    };
}

String userChoice = "stock";
products.stream().sorted(sortBy(userChoice)).forEach(System.out::println);

thenComparing with Extractor Function

The thenComparing(Function<T,U>) overload extracts a Comparable key for the secondary sort without needing an explicit Comparator.

record Event(String type, int year, int month, int day) {}

Comparator<Event> chronological = Comparator
    .comparing(Event::type)
    .thenComparingInt(Event::year)
    .thenComparingInt(Event::month)
    .thenComparingInt(Event::day);

Sorting Collections of Records

Records with accessor methods work seamlessly with method references in comparator chains.

record Order(String customerId, String status, double total, java.time.LocalDate date) {}

List<Order> orders = loadOrders();

Comparator<Order> byCustomerThenDate = Comparator
    .comparing(Order::customerId)
    .thenComparing(Order::date, Comparator.reverseOrder()); // newest first per customer

orders.stream().sorted(byCustomerThenDate)
    .collect(Collectors.groupingBy(Order::customerId))
    .forEach((cust, ords) -> {
        System.out.println("Customer: " + cust);
        ords.forEach(o -> System.out.println("  " + o.date() + " $" + o.total()));
    });

Stable Sort Guarantee

Java's List.sort() and Arrays.sort() for objects use a stable merge sort. Elements that compare equal preserve their original relative order.

// Stable sort example:
// First sort by name, then by dept
// Equal dept elements preserve the name order from previous sort
List<Employee> sorted = employees.stream()
    .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::name))     // 1st pass
    .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::dept))     // 2nd pass (stable!)
    .collect(Collectors.toList());
// Within each dept, employees remain alphabetically sorted

Comparator.comparing with Key Comparator

The two-argument form Comparator.comparing(keyExtractor, keyComparator) lets you specify both the key and its ordering.

// Sort by name length, then alphabetically within same length
Comparator<String> c = Comparator
    .comparing(String::length, Integer::compare)
    .thenComparing(Comparator.naturalOrder());

List<String> words = new ArrayList<>(List.of("fig","apple","kiwi","banana","pea"));
words.sort(c);
System.out.println(words); // [fig, pea, kiwi, apple, banana]

Real-World: Flight Search Results

Sorting flight search results by price, then duration, then departure time.

record Flight(String airline, double price, int durationMin, java.time.LocalTime departs) {}

Comparator<Flight> bestFlight = Comparator
    .comparingDouble(Flight::price)
    .thenComparingInt(Flight::durationMin)
    .thenComparing(Flight::departs);

Collecting Sorted Results

Combine multi-key sorting with collectors to produce sorted groups or maps.

Map<String, List<Employee>> byDept = employees.stream()
    .sorted(Comparator.comparing(Employee::dept)
        .thenComparing(Comparator.comparingDouble(Employee::salary).reversed()))
    .collect(Collectors.groupingBy(Employee::dept,
        LinkedHashMap::new,  // preserve insertion (sorted) order
        Collectors.toList()));

byDept.forEach((dept, emps) -> {
    System.out.println(dept + ":");
    emps.forEach(e -> System.out.println("  " + e.name() + " $" + e.salary()));
});

Quick Check

You want to sort employees first by department alphabetically, then by salary descending. Which chain is correct?

Answer it in the interactive lesson

Recap: Multi-Key Sorting with thenComparing

Key takeaways:

thenComparing() adds secondary sort keys applied when primary keys are equal
Chain as many thenComparing levels as needed
Use thenComparing(Comparator) with reversed() when the secondary key needs descending order
Combine with nullsFirst/nullsLast for optional fields
Java's List.sort() is stable — equal elements preserve their original order
Dynamic sort selection: use switch to return the right Comparator at runtime

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Chain comparators with thenComparing to sort by multiple fields in order of priority. You practise Java Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

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All lessons in this course

The Comparable Interface
Comparator and Lambda Sorting
Multi-Key Sorting with thenComparing
Sorting Arrays and Collections in Practice

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