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SORT
SORT copies records from the current work area to another database file
in sorted order.
Syntax
SORT [<scope>] ON <field1> [/A][/C][/D] [,<field2> [/A][/C][/D]]...
TO <file>/(<expC>) [FOR <condition>] [WHILE <condition>]
Arguments
<field1..fieldN> are the fields to use as sort keys. Note that SORT
does not work with substrings and expressions as keys.
<file> is the name of the target file for the sorted records. Unless
otherwise specified, the new file is assigned the (.dbf) extension.
Options
Order SOFT supports three sorting options:
o /A sorts in ascending order.
o /D sorts in descending order.
o /C sorts ignoring the case of the specified character field.
Unless otherwise specified, the default SORT is ascending order.
Scope: The <scope> is the portion of the current database file to
SORT. The default is ALL.
Condition: The FOR clause specifies the conditional set of records
to SORT within the given scope. The WHILE clause specifies the set of
records meeting the condition from the current record until the
condition fails.
Usage
Clipper SORTs character fields in accordance with ASCII value of each
character within the string. Numeric fields are SORTed in numeric
order, and date fields are SORTed chronologically. Logical and memo
fields cannot be SORTed.
SORT performs as much of its operation as possible in memory and then
it spools to a temporary disk file (Clipsort.tmp). This temporary file
can be as large as the size of the source database file. Note also
that a SORT uses up to three file handles: the source database file,
the target database file, and the temporary file.
Deleted source records: SORT copies deleted records to the target
database file and the deleted records retain their deleted status.
Network
In a network environment, the database file to be SORTed should be
locked with FLOCK() or USEd EXCLUSIVEly.
See Also:
INDEX
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