Sorting rows
Contents
You can use an ORDER BY clause in the SQL SELECT statement for the
DataWindow object to sort the data that is retrieved from the database.
If you do this, the DBMS itself does the sorting and the rows are
brought into PowerBuilder already sorted.
However, you might want to sort the rows after they are retrieved.
For example, you might want to:
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Offload the processing from the DBMS
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Sort on an expression, which might not be allowed in the
SELECT statement but is allowed in PowerBuilder
To sort the rows:
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Select Rows>Sort from the menu bar.
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Drag to the Columns box the columns on which you want to sort
the rows, and specify whether you want to sort in ascending or
descending order.The order of the columns determines the precedence of the
sort. To reorder the columns, drag them up or down in the list. To
delete a column from the sort columns list, drag the column outside
the dialog box.You can also specify expressions to sort on: for example, if
you have two columns, Revenues and Expenses, you can sort on the
expression Revenues – Expenses. -
To specify an expression to sort on, double-click a column
name in the Columns box, modify the expression in the Modify
Expression dialog box, and click OK.You return to the Specify Sort Columns dialog box with the
expression displayed.If you change your mind
You can remove a column or expression from the sorting
specification by simply dragging it and releasing it outside the
Columns box. -
Click OK when you have specified all the sort columns and
expressions.