Array newbie - some pointers please

Can you be more specific to your problem? If you're searching for an element in an array, just loop through it.

Object itemToSearchFor;

// ...

for (int i = 0; i < someArray.length; i++) {
if (itemToSearchFor.equals(someArray[i])) {
// we found a match
}
}

For sorting, there are many ways. If you want to write your own, I would go with bubble sorting (http://leepoint.net/notes-java/data/arrays/32arraybubblesort.html) because although it is inneficient, it is easy to implement. The easiest way is just to use the Arrays class's static sort method.

Arrays.sort(someArray);

Hope this helps.

Are you required to use an Array? With collections which implement the Comparator interface, you can establish your own meaning to what is sorted order of the stored elements, and how your collection will be sorted.

You are in luck, if you must use an array, because the Arrays class provides sort methods for arrays, and you can implement a Comparator for your array. You can provide several comparators for your array and then choose one with your option selection to determine whether you are ordering based on any one of your data fields.