Order by Underlying Code

Deprecated Pattern

When using TPL-native DIMENSION syntax, definition order is automatic. You don't need to use @column.min for dimensions defined with DIMENSION - they will already sort in the order you defined the buckets.

This page documents ordering by underlying code for advanced cases or when using raw Malloy models without DIMENSION syntax.

The Modern Solution: Use DIMENSION Syntax

Define your dimension with DIMENSION syntax and the order is automatic:

DIMENSION education_detail FROM educ
  '<HS' WHEN < 12
  'HS graduate' WHEN = 12
  'Some College' WHEN >= 13 AND <= 15
  'College Grad' WHEN = 16
  'Some Graduate' WHEN >= 17
  ELSE NULL
;

TABLE ROWS education_detail * income.sum;

The results will appear in definition order: <HS, HS graduate, Some College, College Grad, Some Graduate.

Legacy Pattern: @column.min

For dimensions defined in Malloy models (not DIMENSION syntax), alphabetic sorting gives incorrect results:

education_detail is
  pick '<HS' when educ < 12
  pick 'HS graduate' when educ = 12
  pick 'Some College' when educ >= 13 and educ <= 15
  pick 'College Grad' when educ = 16
  pick 'Some Graduate' when educ >= 17
  else null

Alphabetically sorted: <HS, College Grad, HS graduate, Some College, Some Graduate

Natural order (by education level): <HS, HS graduate, Some College, College Grad, Some Graduate

For these cases, use @column.min to order by the underlying code.

Interactive Example

Try It

TABLE
  ROWS education_detail ASC@educ.min
  COLS gender * income.sum
;

Dataset:samplesoccupation, education, gender, income

Try Variations

Query Breakdown

• TABLE - Declares a crosstab table statement
• ROWS education_detail ASC@educ.min - Education labels ordered by underlying code
  • education_detail - The string label dimension derived from educ
  • ASC - Ascending order (lowest code values first)
  • @educ.min - Order by the minimum educ value for each group
• COLS gender * income.sum - Column breakdown by gender
• income.sum - Measure: sum of income for each cell

When You Still Need This

Use @column.min ordering when:

1. Using raw Malloy models - dimensions defined in Malloy (not TPL DIMENSION syntax) don't have definition order metadata
2. Ordering by a different column - e.g., sorting product names by product_id
3. Complex ordering logic - when definition order isn't the natural order

For new development, prefer DIMENSION syntax for automatic definition-order sorting.

Related Examples

• Order by Value - Order by aggregated values
• Order by Different Aggregate - Sort by one measure, display another
• Alphabetic Limit - Default alphabetic ordering