Re: way to custom sort column by fixed strings, then by field's content

On 02/03/2014 12:01 PM, Susan Cassidy wrote:

CCing the list.

This didn't sort the way I want.  It ended up as:
     description    | description
-------------------+-------------
  18 cm long wrench | Scene 1
  absolute root     |
  blue screwdriver  | Scene 1
  red toolbox       | Scene 1
  root 3            | Scene 1
  root 4            | Scene 2
  root 6            | Scene 3
  small wrench      | Scene 1
  tire              | Scene 2


The first column is the one I want sorted.

Probably best to show us a made up sample of what you want.

Also note that I made it a left outer join\

Where?

Susan

Is this what you're after?
select s.s1, s.s2, (    CASE
            when (s.s1 = 'absolute root'::text) then 1
            when (s.s1 ~* '^root%') then  2
            else 3
           END) as v
from scripts as s
  order by v,s1;
        s1         |   s2    | v
-------------------+---------+---
 absolute root     |         | 1
 18 cm long wrench | Scene 1 | 3
 blue screwdriver  | Scene 1 | 3
 red toolbox       | Scene 1 | 3
 root 3            | Scene 1 | 3
 root 4            | Scene 2 | 3
 root 6            | Scene 3 | 3
 small wrench      | Scene 1 | 3
 tire              | Scene 2 | 3
(9 rows)