NAME
Sort::SQL - manipulate SQL sort strings
SYNOPSIS
use Sort::SQL;
my $array = Sort::SQL->string2array('foo ASC bar DESC bing');
# $array == [ { foo => 'ASC' }, { bar => 'DESC' }, { bing => 'ASC' } ]
DESCRIPTION
Sort::SQL is so simple it almost doesn't deserve to be on CPAN. But since I kept finding myself copy/pasting this method into multiple places, I finally figured it deserved to live in its own class.
METHODS
Sort::SQL implements one method: string2array().
string2array( sql sort string )
Takes a scalar string of the SQL ORDER BY
syntax and turns it into an array of key/value pair hashrefs.
I use this method frequently in my Template Toolkit applications, where I want to be able to create re-sortable table columns. I presume there are many other uses.
EXAMPLE
Here's how I use it in my web applications. I want to allow users to re-sort search results by table column header. Each column name is a link back to the server, and I want to provide the SQL ORDER BY
value as a param in the URI.
In my controller code I do:
my $sort_order = $c->request->param('order');
$c->stash->{search}->{order} = Sort::SQL->string2array( $sort_order );
And then in my template:
column.links = {};
FOREACH pair IN search.order;
column = pair.each.0;
direction = pair.each.1;
# toggle the sort direction for current sorted column
# so the next browser request will reverse the sort
IF ( direction == 'ASC' );
column.links.$column.direction = 'DESC';
ELSE;
column.links.$column.direction = 'ASC';
END;
END;
SEE ALSO
SWISH::API::Object
AUTHOR
Peter Karman, <perl@peknet.com>
Thanks to Atomic Learning for sponsoring the development of this module.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (C) 2007 by Peter Karman
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.7 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.