compare two spanish words

compare.js

	var spanishCharsMap = {
		225: 97,  // á
		233: 101, // é
		237: 105, // í
		243: 111, // ó
		250: 117, // ú
		241: 110  // ñ
	};

	/**
	 * This only works for lowercase words. Not the most efficient way, but it works consistently
	 * across browsers, and it should also work on ascii-only languages (english for instance)
	 * @param {string} worda
	 * @param {string} wordb
	 * @return {number} returns -1, 0, 1 if worda is lower, equal or greater than wordb in the
	 * lexicographic order
	 */
	var spanishCompare = function (worda, wordb) {
		var len = Math.min(worda.length, wordb.length),
			i;
		for (i=0; i < len; i++) {
			var a = worda.charCodeAt(i),
				b = wordb.charCodeAt(i);
			if (a === b)
				continue;
			// regular characters
			if (a >= 97 && a <= 122 && b >= 97 && b <= 122)
				return (a < b ? -1 : 1);
			if (a > 200 || b > 200) {
				var mappedA = spanishCharsMap[a] || a,
					mappedB = spanishCharsMap[b] || b;
				if (mappedA == mappedB) {
					return (a > b ? 1 : -1);
				}
				return (mappedA > mappedB ? 1 : -1);
			}
			throw "invalid character range: " + [a,b].join(",") + " (testing " + worda + " vs " + wordb + ")";
		}
		// they're equal
		if (worda.length == wordb.length)
			return 0;
		// one is larger than the other
		return (worda.length < wordb.length ? -1 : 1);
	};