How to Sort a List of Values

Using the @Sort function, you can sort a list of values in descending or ascending order.

How It Works

The @Sort function is a built-in Formula Language function. This function requires two parametersa list of values and the sort order expression(s). There are numerous sort order expressions, including

Ascending[ASCENDING]

Descending[DESCENDING]

Accent-Sensitive[ACCENTSENSITIVE]

Accent-Insensitive[ACCENTINSENSITIVE]

Case-Sensitive[CASESENSITIVE]

Case-Insensitive[CASEINSENSITIVE]

Custom Sort[CUSTOMSORT]

Pitch-Sensitive[PITCHSENSITIVE]

Pitch-Insensitive[PITCHSENSITIVE]

One or more expressions can be specified in the function call. Each expression must be enclosed in brackets and separated by semicolons.

Implementation

To sort the list, simply include the list of values and sort order expression(s). The following illustrates how to sort a list of values in ascending order (see Figure 14.20). Simply replace the list of values or assign a field to the myValues variable. The @Prompt statement is used for illustrative purposes and can be removed or updated as desired.

myValues := "Mark" : "Ryan" : "Kyle" : "Alex";
result := @Sort ( myValues; [Ascending] );

@Prompt([Ok]; "Sample Sort";
"Original List: " + @Implode(myValues; ", ") + @NewLine +
"Sorted List: " + @Implode(result; ", "))

Figure 14.20. Example of the @Sort function