https://orf.at/uebersicht/js/jquery.sortElements.js

1/**
2 * jQuery.fn.sortElements
3 * --------------
4 * @param Function comparator:
5 *   Exactly the same behaviour as [1,2,3].sort(comparator)
6 *
7 * @param Function getSortable
8 *   A function that should return the element that is
9 *   to be sorted. The comparator will run on the
10 *   current collection, but you may want the actual
11 *   resulting sort to occur on a parent or another
12 *   associated element.
13 *
14 *   E.g. $('td').sortElements(comparator, function(){
15 *      return this.parentNode;
16 *   })
17 *
18 *   The <td>'s parent (<tr>) will be sorted instead
19 *   of the <td> itself.
20 */
21jQuery.fn.sortElements = (function(){
22
23    var sort = [].sort;
24
25    return function(comparator, getSortable) {
26
27        getSortable = getSortable || function(){return this;};
28
29        var placements = this.map(function(){
30
31            var sortElement = getSortable.call(this),
32                parentNode = sortElement.parentNode,
33
34                // Since the element itself will change position, we have
35                // to have some way of storing its original position in
36                // the DOM. The easiest way is to have a 'flag' node:
37                nextSibling = parentNode.insertBefore(
38                    document.createTextNode(''),
39                    sortElement.nextSibling
40                );
41
42            return function() {
43
44                if (parentNode === this) {
45                    throw new Error(
46                        "You can't sort elements if any one is a descendant of another."
47                    );
48                }
49
50                // Insert before flag:
51                parentNode.insertBefore(this, nextSibling);
52                // Remove flag:
53                parentNode.removeChild(nextSibling);
54
55            };
56
57        });
58
59        return sort.call(this, comparator).each(function(i){
60            placements[i].call(getSortable.call(this));
61        });
62
63    };
64
65})();