Sort string as number in sql server

Question

I have a column that contains data like this. dashes indicate multi copies of the same invoice and these have to be sorted in ascending order

790711
790109-1         


        

Answer 1

Order by each part separately is the simplest and reliable way to go, why look for other approaches? Take a look at this simple query.

select *
from Invoice
order by Convert(int, SUBSTRING(invoiceid, 0, CHARINDEX('-',invoiceid+'-'))) asc,
         Convert(int, SUBSTRING(invoiceid, CHARINDEX('-',invoiceid)+1, LEN(invoiceid)-CHARINDEX('-',invoiceid))) asc