Sorting search results - solution needed

[Scott Seward]

Hi,

I need to sort the result set of a search. But the common sort mechanisms I’m familiar with won’t get me where I need. I’m sure this is a common problem and much better developers then I know the name of it and how to execute it in Livecode. Any help would be appreciated. Here is the problem:

I execute a search for “187” and get the following results:

NOTE: The search term will always start with one or more numeric characters and  possibly be  appended by punctuation or other alpha characters.

Alpha sort

Desired Sort

187

187

187.01

187a

187.02

187 (a)

187.1

187 (a)(1)

187.22

187 (b)

187.234

187 (b)(1)

187.3

187c

187.33

187.c

187.456

187.01

10187

187.02

18700

187.1

187 (a)

187.1.1

187 (a)(1)

187.1.2

187 (b)

187.3

187 (b)(1)

187.22

187.1.1

187.33

187.1.2

187.234

187.c

187.456

187a

10187

187c

18700



Kindest regards,

Scott