Sort / List Layer
Sort elements within variable-length lists. Similar to Python's sorted() or R's sort(). Creates a new list with sorted elements preserving the original length.
Example transformation:
| lists | sorted |
|---|---|
| [3, 1, 2, 5, 4] | [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] |
| [c, a, b] | [a, b, c] |
| [2, null, 1] | [1, 2, null] |
| [null, 5, null, 3] | [3, 5, null, null] |
| [] | [] |
Common applications:
- Ordering transaction histories
- Ranking performance metrics
- Sorting event timestamps
- Organizing categorical data
- Normalizing sequences
- Creating ordered lists for display
Note: Lists can have any length. Type-specific comparison for ordering. Empty lists remain empty. Particularly useful for organizing variable-length sequences while maintaining their original size.
Table
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Table
Select
columnThe variable-length list column to sort. Examples:
- Numeric lists: [3, 1, 2, 5, 4]
- String lists: [charlie, alpha, beta]
- Date lists: [2024-01-01, 2023-12-31]
- Mixed lengths: [1, 2], [1, 2, 3, 4] Lists can have different lengths. Elements must be of same type.
Descending
boolSort order direction:
- false (default): ascending (smaller to larger) Numbers: [1, 2, 3, 4] Text: [alpha, beta, gamma]
- true: descending (larger to smaller) Numbers: [4, 3, 2, 1] Text: [gamma, beta, alpha]
NullsLast
boolNull value placement:
- false (default): nulls first [null, null, 1, 2, 3]
- true: nulls last [1, 2, 3, null, null]
AsColumn
nameName for the new column. If not provided, the system generates a unique name. If AsColumn matches an existing column, the existing column is replaced. The name should follow valid column naming conventions.