You can arrange key fields containing character data according
to several sorting sequences available with the SRTSEQ parameter.
Consider the following records.
| Record |
Empname |
Deptnbr |
Empnbr |
|---|
| 1 |
Jones, Marilyn |
45 |
23318 |
| 2 |
Smith, Ron |
45 |
41321 |
| 3 |
JOHNSON, JOHN |
53 |
41322 |
| 4 |
Smith, ROBERT |
27 |
56218 |
| 5 |
JONES, MARTIN |
53 |
62213 |
| 6 |
Jones, Martin |
08 |
29231 |
|
If the Empname field is the key field and is a character field,
the *HEX sequence (the EBCDIC sequence) arranges the records as follows.
| Record |
Empname |
Deptnbr |
Empnbr |
|---|
| 1 |
Jones, Marilyn |
45 |
23318 |
| 6 |
Jones, Martin |
08 |
29231 |
| 3 |
JOHNSON, JOHN |
53 |
41322 |
| 5 |
JONES, MARTIN |
53 |
62213 |
| 2 |
Smith, Ron |
45 |
41321 |
| 4 |
Smith, ROBERT |
27 |
56218 |
|
Notice that with the *HEX sequence, all lowercase characters are sorted
before the uppercase characters. Thus, Smith, Ron sorts before Smith,
ROBERT, and JOHNSON, JOHN sorts between the lowercase
and uppercase Jones. You can use the *LANGIDSHR sort sequence to sort records
when the records were entered using a mixture of uppercase and lowercase.
The *LANGIDSHR sequence, which uses the same collating weight for lowercase
and uppercase characters, results in the following record.
| Record |
Empname |
Deptnbr |
Empnbr |
|---|
| 3 |
JOHNSON, JOHN |
53 |
41322 |
| 1 |
Jones, Marilyn |
45 |
23318 |
| 5 |
JONES, MARTIN |
53 |
62213 |
| 6 |
Jones, Martin |
08 |
29231 |
| 4 |
Smith, ROBERT |
27 |
56218 |
| 2 |
Smith, Ron |
45 |
41321 |
|
Notice that with the *LANGIDSHR sequence, the lowercase and uppercase characters
are treated as equal. Thus, JONES, MARTIN and Jones,
Martin are equal and sort in the same sequence they have in the base
file. While this is not incorrect, it would look better in a report if all
the lowercase Jones preceded the uppercase JONES. You can use the *LANGIDUNQ
sort sequence to sort the records when the records were entered using an inconsistent
uppercase and lowercase. The *LANGIDUNQ sequence, which uses different but
sequential collating weights for lowercase and uppercase characters, results
in the following record.
| Record |
Empname |
Deptnbr |
Empnbr |
|---|
| 3 |
JOHNSON, JOHN |
53 |
41322 |
| 1 |
Jones, Marilyn |
45 |
23318 |
| 6 |
Jones, Martin |
08 |
29231 |
| 5 |
JONES, MARTIN |
53 |
62213 |
| 4 |
Smith, ROBERT |
27 |
56218 |
| 2 |
Smith, Ron |
45 |
41321 |
|
The *LANGIDSHR and *LANGIDUNQ sort sequences exist for every language supported
in your system. The LANGID parameter determines which *LANGIDSHR
or *LANGIDUNQ sort sequence to use. Use the SRTSEQ parameter to specify the
sort sequence and the LANGID parameter to specify the language.