Item8722: TablePlugin sorts dates alphabetically if some cells are empty

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Priority: Normal
Current State: Closed
Released In: 1.1.0
Target Release: minor
Applies To: Extension
Component: TablePlugin
Branches:
Reported By: KennethLavrsen
Waiting For:
Last Change By: KennethLavrsen
After a very recent update to TablePlugin fixing a sorting issue with decimal number we now have introduced a new problem.

Before the change a column with dates where some of the cells were empty would sort so first all the empty cells were listed followed by the dates sorted as dates

The rows with the empty cells would sort more or less randomly but they would always come before the cells with dates.

After the change the column with empty cells is regarded as text strings and the sort happens alphabetically.

Here is an actual example. The project manager in question has always had the dates sorted by the forecast column. When a milestone is reached the date is moved to the actual column leaving more and more cells in the forecast empty.

Milestone Plan Forecast Actual
Doc Input
12 Sep 2007
 
12 Sep 2007
Doc Plan
26 Sep 2007
 
26 Sep 2007
Management Decision
10 Oct 2007
 
10 Oct 2007
Q Plan
10 Oct 2007
 
30 Nov 2007
Management Review
12 Oct 2007
 
12 Oct 2007
Some Start Milestone
13 Jun 2007
 
14 Sep 2007
SW: Test 1
13 Dec 2007
12 Dec 2007
 
Senior Management Babble
17 Oct 2007
13 Dec 2007
 
SW: Test 2
11 Jan 2008
11 Jan 2008
 
Internal test
11 Jan 2008
11 Jan 2008
 
Upgrade stuff
11 Jan 2008
11 Jan 2008
 
Test more stuff
01 Feb 2008
01 Feb 2008
 
Stuff tested and integrated
21 Mar 2008
21 Mar 2008
 
Upgrade next version
21 Mar 2008
21 Mar 2008
 
Test next version
11 Apr 2008
11 Apr 2008
 
Next version tested
11 Apr 2008
11 Apr 2008
 
Write more doccu
05 May 2008
05 May 2008
 
SW: Final version
16 May 2008
16 May 2008
 
SW: Final final version
30 May 2008
30 May 2008
 
Build release
09 Jun 2008
09 Jun 2008
 
Upload release
20 Jun 2008
20 Jun 2008
 

Normally we would sort by planned but in this case the dates have crossed over a lot so the PM prefers the sort by forecast.

That worked OK until 2 days ago when I upgraded our TablePlugin.

It would be better if the

  • Empty cells in a row of random strings is sorted like an empty string (which is the case today)
  • Empty cells in a row of numbers are sorted so empty means "infinite negative" ie. before all numbers, which would make it consistant with numbers and dates
  • Empty cells in a row of dates are sorted so empty means epoch 0 (before any modern date)
  • Empty cell rows are sorted within themselves as they appear in the raw input table (nice to have). This would make a better chance that those rows are not in total random order.

-- KennethLavrsen - 17 Mar 2010

The previous version of table plugin would stop sorting as soon as the column type was ambivalent: mixed dates and strings or empty cells. The update on trunk makes it possible to have cells of different type mixed.

Please give an example that illustrates the problem you are seeing.

-- ArthurClemens - 17 Mar 2010

I had written "here is an example - but forgotten to paste in the example I had in the paste buffer. I am getting old. I have added it up in the original description.

-- KennethLavrsen - 17 Mar 2010

It seems this site has a plugin version that does not do this either.

I have a merlin.lavrsen.dk installation I call timewarp which I use to jump between versions. It is currently at the 1.0.9 release version. And on this it sorts like it did here at the office until I upgraded.

http://merlin.lavrsen.dk/timewarp/bin/view/Myweb/ScheduleTableTest

-- KennethLavrsen - 17 Mar 2010

OK. trunk version works fine. Only the release version needs a tweak.

-- ArthurClemens - 17 Mar 2010

This will not get fixed in 1.0 scope.

I am changing target to 1.1 (minor) and setting it to WaitingForRelease

-- KennethLavrsen - 22 Jul 2010
 

ItemTemplate edit

Summary TablePlugin sorts dates alphabetically if some cells are empty
ReportedBy KennethLavrsen
Codebase 1.0.9, trunk
SVN Range
AppliesTo Extension
Component TablePlugin
Priority Normal
CurrentState Closed
WaitingFor
Checkins
TargetRelease minor
ReleasedIn 1.1.0
Topic revision: r6 - 04 Oct 2010, KennethLavrsen
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