# ranks
> Compute ranks for values of an array-like object.
## Usage
```javascript
var ranks = require( '@stdlib/stats/ranks' );
```
#### ranks( arr\[, opts] )
Returns the sample ranks of the elements in `arr`, which can be either an [`array`][mdn-array] or [`typed array`][mdn-typed-array].
```javascript
var arr = [ 1.1, 2.0, 3.5, 0.0, 2.4 ];
var out = ranks( arr );
// returns [ 2, 3, 5, 1, 4 ]
// Ties are averaged:
arr = [ 2, 2, 1, 4, 3 ];
out = ranks( arr );
// returns [ 2.5, 2.5, 1, 5, 4 ];
// Missing values are placed last:
arr = [ null, 2, 2, 1, 4, 3, NaN, NaN ];
out = ranks( arr );
// returns [ 6, 2.5, 2.5, 1, 5, 4, 7 ,8 ]
```
The function accepts the following options:
- **method**: `string` indicating how ties are handled. Can be one of the following values: `'average'`, `'min'`, `'max'`, `'ordinal'` and `'dense'`. Default: `'average'`.
- **missing**: `string` specifying how missing values are handled. Must be either `'last'`, `'first'` or `'remove'`. Default: `'last'`.
- **encoding**: `array` holding all values which will be regarded as missing values. Default: `[ NaN, null]`.
When all elements of the `array` are different, the ranks are uniquely determined. When there are equal elements (called _ties_), the `method` option determines how they are handled. The default, `'average'`, replace the ranks of the ties by their mean. Other possible options are `'min'` and `'max'`, which replace the ranks of the ties by their minimum and maximum, respectively. `'dense'` works like `'min'`, with the difference that the next highest element after a tie is assigned the next smallest integer. Finally, `ordinal` gives each element in `arr` a distinct rank, according to the position they appear in.
```javascript
var data = [ 2, 2, 1, 4, 3 ];
// Max method:
var out = ranks( data, {
'method': 'max'
});
// returns [ 3, 3, 1, 5, 4 ]
// Min method:
out = ranks( data, {
'method': 'min'
});
// returns [ 2, 2, 1, 5, 4 ]
// Ordinal method
out = ranks( data, {
'method': 'ordinal'
});
// returns [ 2, 3, 1, 5, 4 ]
// Dense method:
out = [ 2, 2, 1, 4, 3 ];
out = ranks( data, {
'method': 'dense'
});
// returns [ 2, 2, 1, 4, 3 ]
```
The `missing` option is used to specify how to handle missing data. By default, `NaN` or `null` are treated as missing values. `'last'`specifies that missing values are placed last, `'first'` that the are assigned the lowest ranks and `'remove'` means that they are removed from the array before the ranks are calculated.
```javascript
var data = [ NaN, 2, 2, 1, 4, 3, null, null ];
var out = ranks( data, {
'missing': 'first'
});
// returns [ 1, 5.5, 5.5, 4, 8, 7, 2, 3 ]
out = ranks( data, {
'missing': 'last'
});
// returns [ 6, 2.5, 2.5, 1, 5, 4, 7 ,8 ]
out = ranks( data, {
'missing': 'remove'
});
// returns [ 2.5, 2.5, 1, 5, 4 ]
```
Custom encoding for missing values is supported via the `encoding` option, which allows to supply the function with an `array` of values which should be treated as missing.
```javascript
var Int32Array = require( '@stdlib/array/int32' );
var data = new Int32Array( [ 2, 1, -999, 3, 4 ] );
var out = ranks( data, {
'encoding': [ -999 ]
});
// returns [ 2, 1, 5, 3, 4 ]
```
## Examples
```javascript
var Int32Array = require( '@stdlib/array/int32' );
var round = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/round' );
var randu = require( '@stdlib/random/base/randu' );
var ranks = require( '@stdlib/stats/ranks' );
var data;
var out;
var i;
// Plain arrays...
data = new Array( 10 );
for ( i = 0; i < data.length; i++ ) {
data[ i ] = round( randu()*10.0 );
}
out = ranks( data );
// returns
// Typed arrays...
data = new Int32Array( 10 );
for ( i = 0; i < data.length; i++ ) {
data[ i ] = randu() * 10.0;
}
out = ranks( data );
// returns
```
[mdn-array]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array
[mdn-typed-array]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Typed_arrays