"Alphabetical" sorting is not alphabetical - Sorted by ASCII code instead #7230

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GiteaMirror · 2025-11-02T07:20:16-06:00

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:16 -06:00

Originally created by @anobit on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021).

Gitea version (or commit ref): 1.15.0+dev-171-gf719ffc78
Git version: Not relevant
Operating system:
- Not relevant
Database (use [x]):
- sqlite3
Can you reproduce the bug at https://try.gitea.io:
- Yes (https://try.gitea.io/AnoBit?sort=alphabetically)
- No
Log gist:
- Not relevant

Description

The alphabetical sorting is currently not alphabetical, as lower- and uppercase letters are "sorted" seperately. This is likely due to ASCII Code comparison (e.g. "B = 66", "a" = 97).
In the linked example i made three repositories to showcase this: Beta and Omega, starting both with uppercase letters and alpha, starting with a lowercase. With an alphabetical sorting it would be expected to be sorted as "alpha", "Beta", "Omega". Instead, "alpha" is pushed to the back.

Among other things, this can be an error source for people migrating old, inconsistently named VCS to Gitea.

Screenshots

Originally created by @anobit on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021). - Gitea version (or commit ref): 1.15.0+dev-171-gf719ffc78 - Git version: Not relevant - Operating system: - Not relevant - Database (use `[x]`): - [X] sqlite3 - Can you reproduce the bug at https://try.gitea.io: - [X] Yes (https://try.gitea.io/AnoBit?sort=alphabetically) - [ ] No - Log gist: - Not relevant ## Description The alphabetical sorting is currently not alphabetical, as lower- and uppercase letters are "sorted" seperately. This is likely due to ASCII Code comparison (e.g. "B = 66", "a" = 97). In the linked example i made three repositories to showcase this: Beta and Omega, starting both with uppercase letters and alpha, starting with a lowercase. With an alphabetical sorting it would be expected to be sorted as "alpha", "Beta", "Omega". Instead, "alpha" is pushed to the back. Among other things, this can be an error source for people migrating old, inconsistently named VCS to Gitea. ## Screenshots ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/19514837/115679451-e2a45b80-a352-11eb-8cf7-81772c9703c4.png)

GiteaMirror added the type/bug label 2025-11-02 07:20:17 -06:00

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:17 -06:00

@lafriks commented on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021):

What database are you using?

@lafriks commented on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021): What database are you using?

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:17 -06:00

@anobit commented on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021):

On the system i migrate to sqlite3. Which one the try.gitea.io instance uses, i do not know.

@anobit commented on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021): On the system i migrate to sqlite3. Which one the try.gitea.io instance uses, i do not know.

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:18 -06:00

@lafriks commented on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021):

Yes, this is how sqlite does sorting, so it is only sqlite speciffic problem. To have case insensitive sorting sqlite needs COLLATE NOCASE ASC but I don't know if xorm supports that
cc @lunny

@lafriks commented on GitHub (Apr 22, 2021): Yes, this is how sqlite does sorting, so it is only sqlite speciffic problem. To have case insensitive sorting sqlite needs `COLLATE NOCASE ASC` but I don't know if xorm supports that cc @lunny

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:18 -06:00

@lunny commented on GitHub (Apr 23, 2021):

Just use OrderBy("name COLLATE NOCASE ASC") if it's sqlite

@lunny commented on GitHub (Apr 23, 2021): Just use `OrderBy("name COLLATE NOCASE ASC")` if it's sqlite

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:18 -06:00

@KaKi87 commented on GitHub (Feb 4, 2023):

Hello,

I don't know about repo names, but the same issue is present for repo file names.
Personally I use MySQL.

Thanks

@KaKi87 commented on GitHub (Feb 4, 2023): Hello, I don't know about repo names, but the same issue is present for repo file names. Personally I use MySQL. Thanks

GiteaMirror commented

2025-11-02 07:20:19 -06:00

@wxiaoguang commented on GitHub (Mar 5, 2024):

I can see 2 problems here.

The first one is for "database collation". I think SQLite is too special for this case, and it doesn't seem worth to make XORM more complex to support the special sort order. It's highly recommended to use some rich-featured databases like MySQL/PgSQL, then you could convert the table/column collation to what you need.

The second one, I think it could be fixed by #29611

(I think this issue could be closed after #29611 gets merged)

@wxiaoguang commented on GitHub (Mar 5, 2024): I can see 2 problems here. The first one is for "database collation". I think SQLite is too special for this case, and it doesn't seem worth to make XORM more complex to support the special sort order. It's highly recommended to use some rich-featured databases like MySQL/PgSQL, then you could convert the table/column collation to what you need. The second one, I think it could be fixed by #29611 (I think this issue could be closed after #29611 gets merged)

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Reference: github-starred/gitea#7230