Easytrieve Descending Sort

D Suffix Syntax

1
2
3
4
5
SORT PERSNL TO SORTWRK USING (DEPT, GROSS D, EMP#)
 
REPORT TOP-PAY
  SEQUENCE DEPT GROSS D EMP#
  LINE DEPT EMP# NAME GROSS

DEPT ascending groups departments 100 then 200. GROSS D lists highest earners first inside each department. EMP# ascending breaks ties on employee number when gross matches. SEQUENCE mirrors the same per-key directions on report spool after PRINT.

Per-Key D — Not Global

Adding D after REGION would reverse regions while branch and dept stayed ascending—a different report shape. Document D placement in program headers so maintainers do not remove one D thinking it is redundant.

Major Key D — Whole-File Ranking

1
2
3
4
SORT PERSNL TO SORTWRK USING (GROSS D, EMP#)
JOB INPUT SORTWRK
  IF GROSS GE 100000
     PRINT TOP-RPT

GROSS D as the major key sorts the entire file by pay highest-first before EMP# tie-breaks. CONTROL on DEPT after this sort will not group departments together unless DEPT was a prior major key—department rows are interleaved by pay rank globally. Use major-key D for top-N company lists; use minor-key D for within-group rankings.

Minor Key D — Within-Group Ranking

1
2
3
4
SORT PERSNL TO SORTWRK USING (REGION, BRANCH, GROSS D)
REPORT R1
  CONTROL REGION BRANCH
  SEQUENCE REGION BRANCH GROSS D

REGION and BRANCH ascending preserve control groups. GROSS D shows highest paid employee first within each branch on detail lines—useful for branch manager review while regional subtotals still accumulate correctly when CONTROL matches major keys.

Descending Dates and Timestamps

Newest-first registers code DATE D or TIME D as major or minor key depending on scope. USING (ACCT-NO, POST-DATE D) keeps account groups together with latest posting first—common for statement detail. USING (POST-DATE D, ACCT-NO) sorts all accounts globally by date—common for operational journals. Pick major key to match the reader's mental model.

Character Fields Descending

D on alphanumeric keys reverses collating sequence for that key: Z before A when ascending would be A before Z. Punctuation ordering still follows ALTSEQ tables—test with real names and codes. Do not confuse descending NAME with case-insensitive alphabetical expectations unless your collating table says so.

D on SEQUENCE Without LINE

SEQUENCE HIRE-DATE D may order detail by hire date even when LINE omits HIRE-DATE from print columns. Field must be present in spool at PRINT—populate file field or W field before PRINT. Hidden sort keys are valid; hidden unpopulated keys are not.

Descending Versus BEFORE Top-N

Sorting GROSS D then reading until count exceeds N in JOB is simpler than complex BEFORE for some top-ten lists. BEFORE with STOP after fifty SELECTs caps presort volume without descending—different goal. Combine minor-key D with JOB IF when you need top five per department—often requires duplicate logic or multiple passes, not sort alone.

Common Descending Mistakes

• Assuming D applies to all keys after it in the list.
• Major-key D when CONTROL expects grouped major ascending keys.
• Mixing up USING (DEPT, GROSS D) with USING (GROSS D, DEPT).
• Forgetting D on SEQUENCE when USING had D—report order differs from file order.
• Descending signed numeric without signed DEFINE—order surprises.

Testing Descending Keys

1. Three employees same DEPT different GROSS—verify highest prints first with GROSS D.
2. Toggle D off—confirm order reverses.
3. Verify CONTROL groups unchanged when only minor key has D.
4. Compare SORT file order to SEQUENCE report order.
5. Test date D with known newest record first within account.

Explain It Like I'm Five

D on a sort key means count down instead of up for that one rule. If you sort kids by height ascending, shortest first. If you add D to height, tallest first—but only for that rule. If you also sort by class name ascending, each class still sticks together; only height order flips inside the class.

Exercises

1. Write USING (DEPT, GROSS D) and explain order in words.
2. Contrast major GROSS D with minor GROSS D under REGION.
3. Add matching SEQUENCE D to a REPORT.
4. Identify a report that needs date D as minor key.
5. List one mistake from putting D on the wrong key level.