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MetricsHub Community Connectors 1.0.24

sort (Compute)

When To Use

Use sort to order the lines of a table on one of its columns: the processes by CPU, the files by size, the entries by name. Followed by head[1], it keeps the top lines.

Syntax

sources:
  processes:
    type: wmi
    query: SELECT Name, IDProcess, WorkingSetPrivate FROM Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfProc_Process WHERE Name <> '_Total'
    namespace: root\CIMv2
    computes:
    # The processes that use the most memory first
    - type: sort
      column: 3
      numeric: true
      descending: true

Properties

Property Required Default Description
type Yes None sort.
column Yes None The 1-based column to sort on.
numeric No false true compares the values as numbers (9.5 before 10), false alphabetically (10 before 9.5). Numbers may be negative, decimal, or written with an exponent (1.5E3), but not with a unit or a thousands separator (12%, 1,024).
ignoreCase No false true makes the alphabetical comparison ignore the case (alpha before Beta). By default, the values compare by their characters' code, which puts uppercase letters before lowercase ones (Beta before alpha). Without effect when numeric is true.
descending No false true sorts from the largest value to the smallest.

The sort is stable: lines with equal values keep their order. The lines that lack the column, and, in a numeric sort, those whose value is not a number (n/a, an empty value, a header), go last, in their original order, in both directions.

Table Transformation Example

With column: 3, numeric: true and descending: true:

Input

Input

Name PID Memory
svchost 880 9452
sqlservr 2140 812004
Idle 0 n/a
w3wp 5012 125340
Result

Result

Name PID Memory
sqlservr 2140 812004
w3wp 5012 125340
svchost 880 9452
Idle 0 n/a
  • Sort numbers with numeric: true: alphabetically, 10 comes before 9.
  • Follow sort with head[1] to keep the top lines, or tail[2] to keep the bottom ones.
  • Remove units first, with replace[3] or an awk[4] compute, so that the values are numbers.

Common Mistakes

  • Counting columns from 0: column is 1-based, and column: 0 leaves the table unchanged.
  • Leaving a header line in the table: a numeric sort moves it last, an alphabetical sort moves it among the data. Remove it with excludeMatchingLines[5] first.
  • Expecting a locale-aware alphabetical order: accented letters come after z.
sort compute order numeric alphabetical descending ignoreCase metricshub community connector hardware system
Links:
  • [1] head.html
  • [2] tail.html
  • [3] replace.html
  • [4] awk.html
  • [5] exclude-matching-lines.html
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