Thread: Help With Sorting Multidimensional String Array

I am new to Java, but to expand my knowledge of it. Below is a class assignment that I'm having a very, very difficult time completing. I need to create a method that passes in a two dimensional string array and then sorts the array by the second element.

Method sortContacts()

o Declared as a public static method, it should take a two-dimensional String array as a parameter,
and an integer value for the number of contacts in the array
o Returns nothing
o Sorts the contents of the contact list given as a parameter using the lastName as the sorting
field
o You may use any of the sorting mechanisms described in the text (bubble, insertion or selection)
o Key concept: as you implement the sort, the trick is to identify the dimension for the values you
are comparing and how they relate to the values from your loops.
o Hints:
 Do not rely on the array’s length for your loops, instead use the value from the number
of contacts
 Your temp variable will be an array of size 3, String[] temp = new String[3];
 You will need to use the string1.compareTo(string2) method to compare two strings.

Sample data: (first name, last name, phone number)

String [][] contactsArray = {

{"Emily","Watson","913-555-0001"},
{"Madison","Jacobs","913-555-0002"},
{"Joshua","Cooper","913-555-0003"},
{"Brandon","Alexander","913-555-0004"},
{"Emma","Miller","913-555-0005"},
{"Daniel","Ward","913-555-0006"},
{"Olivia","Davis","913-555-0007"},
{"Isaac","Torres","913-555-0008"},
{"Austin","Morris","913-555-0009"}

 
public static void sortContact(String[][] contactsArray, int numContacts) {
		// TODO Auto-generated method stub
 
 		String[] temp = new String[3];
 		String [] words = contactsArray[3];
 
 		for(int i = 0; i < numContacts-1; i++)
 		{
 		    int smallest = i;
 		    for(int j = i + 1; j < numContacts-1; j++) /* here you find the index of the minimum String between 
 		    the strings in the unsorted side of the array*/
 		    {
 
 		    	//Prints loop variables so I can see them before any action
 		    	System.out.println("First: "+words[j]+" " +"Second "+words[i]);
 		        if(words[j].compareTo(words[i]) < 0)
 		            smallest = j;
 		    }
 
 		   //put the new minimum in the i-th position.
 
 		    //String temp = words[i];
 		    words[i] = words[smallest];
 		    words[smallest] = temp[i];
 		} 	
	}

I'm not sure where to put the temp array

There are tons of examples for integer arrays but not a lot for string arrays,

Any suggestions are appreciated.