[comp.sys.mac.hypercard] Sorting by multiple fields

johnv@sequent.UUCP (John VanZandt) (09/01/90)

I want to sort a stack by multiple fields, with a major and several minor
sort fields.  How can this be done?

dlugose@uncecs.edu (Dan Dlugose) (09/03/90)

In article <41691@sequent.UUCP> johnv@eng2.UUCP (John VanZandt) writes:
>I want to sort a stack by multiple fields, with a major and several minor
>sort fields.  How can this be done?

The simplest sort method would be consecutive sort commands in the
reverse order of importance.  For example, if you had a stack of
student grades in the range A..F, class 1..5 , and you wanted the
main division to be grades, first all A's, within that sorted by
class 1..5, within that sorted by last name, this would work:

sort by field "last name"
sort by field "class"
sort by field "grade"

-- 
Dan Dlugose
Internet: dlugose@uncecs.edu
UNC Educational Computing Service
Box 12035, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2035

man@vali.cs.brown.edu (Mark H. Nodine) (09/05/90)

In article <1990Sep3.140709.16158@uncecs.edu>, dlugose@uncecs.edu (Dan
Dlugose) writes:
|>In article <41691@sequent.UUCP> johnv@eng2.UUCP (John VanZandt) writes:
|>>I want to sort a stack by multiple fields, with a major and several minor
|>>sort fields.  How can this be done?
|>
|>The simplest sort method would be consecutive sort commands in the
|>reverse order of importance.  For example, if you had a stack of
|>student grades in the range A..F, class 1..5 , and you wanted the
|>main division to be grades, first all A's, within that sorted by
|>class 1..5, within that sorted by last name, this would work:
|>
|>sort by field "last name"
|>sort by field "class"
|>sort by field "grade"

It is also possible to do the sort in a single command:

  sort by field "last name" & numtochar(1) & field "class" &
numtochar(1) & field "grade"

where the numtochar(1) serves as delimiters.

	--Mark