Name

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      DBSORT

Purpose

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      Routine to sort list of entries in data base

Calling Sequence

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      result = dbsort( list, items , [ REVERSE = ])

Inputs

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      list - list of entry numbers to sort
              -1 to sort all entries
      items - list of items to sort (up to 9 items)

Output

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      result - numeric vector giving input list sorted by items

Optional Keyword Input

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      REVERSE - scalar or vector with the same number of elements as the
        the number of items to sort. If the corresponding element of REVERSE
        is non-zero then that item is sorted in descending rather than
        ascending order.

Example

---

      Sort an astronomical catalog with RA as primary sort, and declination
      as secondary sort (used when RA values are equal)
          IDL> NEWLIST = DBSORT( -1, 'RA,DEC' )
      If for some reason, one wanted the DEC sorted in descending order, but
      the RA in ascending order
          IDL> NEWLIST = DBSORT( -1, 'RA,DEC', REV = [ 0, 1 ] )

Method

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      The list is sorted such that each item is sorted into
      asscending order starting with the last item.

Common Blocks

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      DBCOM

Procedures Used

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      ZPARCHECK, BSORT, DBEXT, DB_ITEM

History

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      VERSION 1 D. Lindler Oct. 86
      Added REVERSE keyword W. Landsman August, 1991
      Avoid use of EXECUTE() for V6.1 or later W. Landsman Dec 2006
      Assume since V6.1 W. Landsman June 2009
      Add TEMPORARY call W. Lnadsman July 2009