Go: sort a Map by key #golang

go-sort-map.go

import "sort" 

ages := map[string]int{
	"a": 1,	
	"c": 3,	
	"d": 4,	
	"b": 2,
}

names := make([]string, 0, len(ages))
for name := range ages {
	names = append(names, name)
}
sort.Strings(names) //sort by key
for _, name := range names {
	//...
}

@mellorn-anz I completely agree with you, I was just saying how it is and why it is like that. But while there are workarounds (like: https://github.com/elliotchance/orderedmap) I would also love to see native ordered map in go.

@zmf I am wondering what's the reason that the iteration of the maps is by design random.

I'm guessing it has something to do with garbage collection and the hash backing store scaling up or down. Originally, if I remember correctly, insertion order was mostly predictable, but not always, and because it wasn't guaranteed, the Go devs decided to make sure people wouldn't rely on the insertion order being stable.

I think it was changed again fairly recently to make things like testing easier.