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From: marko@apple.i.intel.com.ogc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: INFORMIX Sorting Question
Message-ID: <465@gandalf.littlei.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jan 89 16:23:13 GMT
Sender: news@littlei.UUCP
Reply-To: marko@apple.i.intel.com (Mark O'Shea)
Organization: Intel Corp., OMSO UNIX Development, Hillsboro, OR
Lines: 20

I have Informix 4gl and Sql installed on a Xenix workstation.  The users
requested some changes and additions all of which are complete except one.
I am wondering if anyone out there knows of a way to give the user an ad hoc
sorting capability in Informix.

The scenerio is this.  The report they want to sort has 13 columns in it.  The
users want to be able to sort on 7 of those columns.  Now comes the rub.  They
want to sort differently for each user.  For example, user1 may want to sort
on columns 1, 3 and 9 in that order.  User2 may want to sort on columns 13,
12, 10 and 2 in that order.  So forth and so on.

Is there a simple way to do this?  I have read the manuals and do not see a
way.  I know I could set up a menu and the corresponding functions to give 
each user the kind of sort they want, but that would restrict them to a small 
set of capabilities-if we want to practical.  

Any help or advice will be greatfully appreciated.  

Mark O'Shea
SDA