How Can MySQL Achieve Natural Sorting of Alphanumeric Data Efficiently?

MySQL Efficient Natural Sorting: An Elegant Solution

Achieving natural sorting in MySQL, especially when dealing with data containing alphanumeric characters and numbers, can be a challenge. Traditional methods require splitting the game title into its component parts, but this can be tedious and error-prone.

However, a more elegant solution exists using a combination of MySQL's LENGTH() and ORDER BY functions.

Consider the following dataset:

<code>- Final Fantasy
- Final Fantasy 4
- Final Fantasy 10
- Final Fantasy 12
- Final Fantasy 12: Chains of Promathia
- Final Fantasy Adventure
- Final Fantasy Origins
- Final Fantasy Tactics</code>

To achieve natural sorting, we can utilize the following MySQL query:

<code>SELECT alphanumeric, 
       integer
FROM sorting_test
ORDER BY LENGTH(alphanumeric), alphanumeric</code>

How does it work?

1. Length sorting: The LENGTH() function measures the number of characters in an alphanumeric column. This creates a sublist that prioritizes shorter strings.
2. Alphanumeric sorting: In the sublist created by the LENGTH() function, the data is sorted alphanumericly using alphanumeric columns. This ensures that the numbers are treated as numbers.

As a result, the data will be sorted in the following order:

<code>- Final Fantasy
- Final Fantasy 4
- Final Fantasy 10
- Final Fantasy 12
- Final Fantasy 12: Chains of Promathia （由于长度优先级，忽略了“chained”元素）
- Final Fantasy Adventure
- Final Fantasy Origins
- Final Fantasy Tactics</code>

This approach not only provides natural ordering, but also simplifies the process without complex parsing. Even in complex digital mode situations like "Warhammer 40,000" or "James Bond 007" it still works.

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