How Can I Sort VARCHAR Columns Containing Numbers Numerically in SQL Server?

Sorting VARCHAR Columns Containing Numbers in SQL Server

Sorting VARCHAR columns that contain both letters and numbers can be challenging, especially when you want to prioritize numerical sorting for numeric values. One effective solution is to pad numeric values with zeros to achieve a consistent string length.

The SQL query below demonstrates this approach:

select MyColumn
from MyTable
order by 
    case IsNumeric(MyColumn) 
        when 1 then Replicate('0', 100 - Len(MyColumn)) + MyColumn
        else MyColumn
    end

In this query:

• IsNumeric(MyColumn) checks if the value in the MyColumn is numeric.
• If it is numeric, the Replicate() function adds zeros to the beginning of the value until it reaches a length of 100 characters. This ensures all numeric values have the same string length.
• If the value is not numeric, it remains unchanged.

By ordering the data based on the modified values, this query will sort numeric values numerically and non-numeric values alphabetically, as desired. Remember to replace 100 with the actual length of the MyColumn in your database.

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