extractSort

The extractSort method of the File class sorts the contents of the file into the sort order indicated by the sortActorArray parameter and writes the results of the sort to the target file specified in the targetFile parameter.

You cannot run this method on a thin client (where the FileNode class usePresentationFileSystem property is set to true) or with a Unicode version.

If the value of the recordSize property is zero (0), the file is read as variable-length records delineated by endOfLine property values. If the recordSize value is not zero, the file is read as fixed-length records of the specified record size, and the value of the endOfLine property is not used.

The SortActorArray class is used to determine the precedence of records in a file, based on the properties of the SortActor class specified in the sortActorArray parameter. The sort actors that can be specified in the sortActorArray parameter are:

The locale in which the sorting is performed is defined by the lcid property of the SortActorArray class. The lcid property default value of 768 specifies an invalid locale id. If this default value is used, it is remapped to the current locale used by JADE. The locale determines the precedence of non-numeric fields and records.

When using the extractSort method, the numeric fields must be less than or equal to 14 characters and in the range represented by the Min_Integer and Max_Integer global constants. (For details, see "SystemLimits Category" in Appendix A of the JADE Encyclopaedia of Primitive Types.)

You cannot perform a numeric sort if the field that you are sorting contains decimals.

For details about specifying the directory in which temporary sort files are located, see the SortDirectory parameter under "JADE Extract Sort Section [JadeExtractSort]", in the JADE Initialization File Reference.