This repository contains sample code for advanced sorting with Apex. It presents two approaches that go beyond the default List.sort method.

SortableAccount demonstrates how you can sort a list of Account records based on the ShippingCountry field:

SortableAccount.sort(List<Account>);

ListUtils and the Comparator interface demonstrate how you can sort lists with custom reusable comparators such as:

// Sort a list of accounts alphabetically based on shipping country
ListUtils.sort(accounts, new SObjectStringFieldComparator('ShippingCountry'));

// Sort a list of accounts alphabetically based on industry
ListUtils.sort(accounts, new SObjectStringFieldComparator('Industry'));

// Sort a list of accounts based on rating values
// as defined in the rating picklist order (non-alphabetical sort)
ListUtils.sort(accounts, new AccountRatingComparator());

A note on performance: ListUtils uses a bubble sort algorithm. This works fine in most cases but other algorithms may be more efficient depending on the type and volume of data that you are sorting.