Splunk Search

Magical sort order

yuanliu
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

I was surprised by this result: In a field starting with a value that can be interpreted as an integer, groupby treats it lexically, but sort treats it numerically.  How does sort determine the intention?  Is there a syntax to force lexical sort?

To illustrate, consider the following:

 

| makeresults
| eval i = mvrange(-3, 4)
| mvexpand i
| eval i = printf("%+d", i) . "x"
| stats count by i

 

 

 

  • As is (groupby only)
    icount
    +0x1
    +1x1
    +2x1
    +3x1
    -1x1
    -2x1
    -3x1
  • Add |sort i
    icount
    -3x1
    -2x1
    -1x1
    +0x1
    +1x1
    +2x1
    +3x1

In my use case, numeric sort is desired. (That was how I "discovered" this.)  Just curious about mechanism.

Labels (2)
Tags (1)
0 Karma
1 Solution

richgalloway
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

To see how sort determines how to sort the results, see https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.4/SearchReference/Sort#Usage . You can override the default by specifying a Sort Field Option.  See https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.4/SearchReference/Sort#Sort_field_options

Since the manual entry for stats is silent on the subject, I presume it uses lexicographical order.

---
If this reply helps you, Karma would be appreciated.

View solution in original post

richgalloway
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

To see how sort determines how to sort the results, see https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.4/SearchReference/Sort#Usage . You can override the default by specifying a Sort Field Option.  See https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.2.4/SearchReference/Sort#Sort_field_options

Since the manual entry for stats is silent on the subject, I presume it uses lexicographical order.

---
If this reply helps you, Karma would be appreciated.

yuanliu
SplunkTrust
SplunkTrust

Thanks for the pointer!  In short, to force lexicographical order, | sort str(i). (I had used sort ip() but didn't know str() was also a directive.)

0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

How to Monitor Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)

We’ve looked at how to integrate Kubernetes environments with Splunk Observability Cloud, but what about ...

Index This | How can you make 45 using only 4?

October 2024 Edition Hayyy Splunk Education Enthusiasts and the Eternally Curious!  We’re back with this ...

Splunk Education Goes to Washington | Splunk GovSummit 2024

If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, this is your opportunity to take your career and Splunk skills to the ...