Sort Order and Data Type
Sort order is performed according to the data type of the column:
• Date columns are sorted in ascending or descending chronology.
• Numeric columns are sorted by ascending or descending numeric value.
• Character columns are sorted in ascending or descending alphabetical order.
This means that numbers entered in a character column (in an address, for instance) are sorted differently than numbers entered into a numeric column. Numbers in a character column are sorted alphabetically, as shown in the following sample table: