jQuery.fn.sortElements = (function(){ var sort = [].sort; return function(comparator, getSortable) { getSortable = getSortable || function(){return this;}; var placements = this.map(function(){ var sortElement = getSortable.call(this), parentNode = sortElement.parentNode, // Since the element itself will change position, we have // to have some way of storing its original position in // the DOM. The easiest way is to have a 'flag' node: nextSibling = parentNode.insertBefore( document.createTextNode(''), sortElement.nextSibling ); return function() { if (parentNode === this) { throw new Error( "You can't sort elements if any one is a descendant of another." ); } // Insert before flag: parentNode.insertBefore(this, nextSibling); // Remove flag: parentNode.removeChild(nextSibling); }; }); return sort.call(this, comparator).each(function(i){ placements[i].call(getSortable.call(this)); }); }; })();