SMRTR ProgrammingNov 18, 2024Dev.to

Alphanumeric / Natural sort in MySQL - 30 years and we still can't do this?

SMRTR summary

A developer humorously describes their struggle to implement alphanumeric sorting in MySQL. Despite trying various methods like "+0", length-based sorting, and complex Unicode transformations, they couldn't find a perfect solution. The author's best attempt uses a generated column with LPAD to standardize number lengths, but it still has limitations. They conclude that MySQL lacks a built-in alphanumeric sort option, unlike other databases, and invite others to improve upon their solution.

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