SID-00800: How to sort numbers in scientific notation in a table plugin

Status:	Answered	TWiki version:	4.2.0	Perl version:
Category:	TablePlugin	Server OS:	redhat linux 7.2	Last update:	16 years ago

I am using the table plugin and have some columns of numbers that are in scientific notation (like 4.0392e-02, 3.9421e+01, etc.) The current sort will treat these as text and not sort them properly. Is there a way to handle the sorting of this notation?

-- JimKulikowski - 2010-03-29

Discussion and Answer

You should be able to do this by creating a sort key and then hiding it from view. See SearchOrderOnMoreColumns for related information.

In your case, you might be able to simply convert scientific notation to decimal to get a sortable key. But if the exponents are too large you will get overflow problems. In that case, a sortable key could be constructed by reversing the parts: for your examples above, +01E3.9421 > -02E4.0392. If the bases are signed too, then you need another +/- prefix.

-- SeanCMorgan - 2010-03-29

The TablePlugin could be enhanced to support sorting of numbers in scientific notation. If you are a programmer you could provide a patch. In any case, feel free to submit an enhancement request at Bugs:TablePlugin.

-- PeterThoeny - 2010-03-29

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