The DECFLOAT_SORTKEY function returns a binary value that may be used to sort DECFLOAT values.
Example:
CREATE TABLE T1 (D1 DECFLOAT(16)); INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(2.100); INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(2.10); INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(2.1000); INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(2.1);
SELECT D1 FROM T1 ORDER BY D1;
2.100 2.10 2.1000 2.1
Note that this result set is arbitrary. The ORDER BY has no effect on ordering these values.
SELECT D1 FROM T1 ORDER BY DECFLOAT_SORTKEY(D1); 2.1000 2.100 2.10 2.1
Note that this result set is ordered according to the IEEE 745R ordering specification.