sort command overview

The SPL2 sort command sorts all of the results by the specified fields. Results missing a given field are treated as having the smallest possible value of that field if descending or largest possible value of that field if ascending.

Syntax

The required syntax is in bold.

sort

[<count>]

[<sort-order>]

[<sort-option>]

<field>

How the SPL2 sort command works

The SPL2 sort command is most often used at the end of your search, either as the last command or the next to the last command.

Here is an example of some data returned by a search:

supplier_id	supplier_name	city	state/province	country
5007	EuroToys	Prague	Central Bohemia	Czech Republic
1009	Mile High Games	Denver	Colorado	United States
7024	Happy Fun Games	Kyoto	Kyoto	Japan
1237	Area 51 Games	Roswell	New Mexico	United States
4111	Isthmus Pastimes	Panama City	Panama	Panama
5017	Der Kriegsspiel	Cologne	North Rhine-Westphalia	Germany
7045	Kiwi Game Warehouse	Auckland	Auckland	New Zealand
1080	EuroToys	Dublin		Ireland

You want to sort the data type supplier ID:

... | sort supplier_id

The results look like this:

supplier_id	supplier_name	city	state/province	country
1009	Mile High Games	Denver	Colorado	United States
1080	EuroToys	Dublin		Ireland
1237	Area 51 Games	Roswell	New Mexico	United States
4111	Isthmus Pastimes	Panama City	Panama	Panama
5007	EuroToys	Prague	Central Bohemia	Czech Republic
5017	Der Kriegsspiel	Cologne	North Rhine-Westphalia	Germany
7024	Happy Fun Games	Kyoto	Kyoto	Japan
7045	Kiwi Game Warehouse	Auckland	Auckland	New Zealand

To sort by Supplier Name and then Supplier ID, specify a comma between the field names when you add the sort command to your search:

... | sort supplier_name, supplier_id

The results look like this:

supplier_id	supplier_name	city	state/province	country
1237	Area 51 Games	Roswell	New Mexico	United States
5017	Der Kriegsspiel	Cologne	North Rhine-Westphalia	Germany
1080	EuroToys	Dublin		Ireland
5007	EuroToys	Prague	Central Bohemia	Czech Republic
7024	Happy Fun Games	Kyoto	Kyoto	Japan
4111	Isthmus Pastimes	Panama City	Panama	Panama
7045	Kiwi Game Warehouse	Auckland	Auckland	New Zealand
1009	Mile High Games	Denver	Colorado	United States

Notice that both of the EuroToys suppliers are listed together and that those are in ascending order. The default sort order is ascending order. To specify descending order, add a minus ( - ) sign before the field name.

To learn how alphanumeric strings and punctuation are sorted, see sort command usage.

See also

sort command

sort command syntax details

sort command usage

sort command examples

Related information in the SPL2 Search Manual

Commands that sort results

Lexicographical order