.. index::
   single: Commands for Sorting or Ranking
   single: Ranking
   single: Sorting
   single: Compare Command; \startsort
   single: Compare Command; \ss
   single: Compare Command; \es
   single: Compare Command; \endsort
   single: Compare Command; \ps
   single: Compare Command; \printsort

   
Commands for Sorting or Ranking
===============================

.. _COMPAREstartsort:   

These three commands work together to enable rankings to be made with *Compare*.  They enable rankings by levels, sums, growth rates, or averages.   The *\\startsort* command is given before the range of lines that is to be sorted, and *\\endsort* is given after that range.  Printing of those lines will be suppressed until the first *\\printsort* command, and printing of the rest of the table should resume after *\\printsort*.  Note that for these features to work, all three commands must be in the same file.  In other words, do not put *\\add* or *\\fadd* commands between the *\\startsort* and *\\endsort*


| **\\ss <date expression> [<size to allocate>]**
| **\\startsort <date expression> [<size to allocate>]**
|    Put the *\\startsort* command before the lines in the stub file that you would like to sort.  The date expression represents the number that you will use as the criteria for the sort.  This can be a value for single year, a range of years indicating a growth rate (e.g. 1990-1997), a sum (1990+1997), or an average (1990|1997).  Note that the date expression used for the sorting need not be a date expression actually used in the table, but it can be any valid date expression that makes sense for the bank that you are using.  Note that if you are comparing several banks, the sorting will be based on the value of the variables for this date expression in the first simulation bank.

   The last argument for *\\startsort* is optional.  By default, enough space is set up to sort up to 500 lines.  If you want to save memory, you may reduce this number, or if you need more than 500 you need to increase it.  Note that *Compare* will sort only lines that normally would print values, i.e., either variables or expressions.  All other lines such as *\\center*, *\\line*, *;*, etc. will be skipped.
   
   Example::
   
      \startsort 90-95 1000
   
| **\\es**   
| **\\endsort**
|    The *\\endsort* command marks the end of the range of the table that will be sorted.  Note that all table lines between the *\\startsort* and *\\endsort* commands will not be printed until a *\\printsort* command is given.


| **\\ps [<direction>] [<numtoprint>]**
| **\\printsort [<direction>] [<numtoprint>]**
|    The *\\printsort* command is the place where the work is done.  Both arguments are optional.  For the first, the sort direction is 'd' (descending) by default.  If you want the sort to be in ascending order, give an 'a'.  The second option is the number of items you would like to print.  

   For example, if you want to print the 10 largest items, you would use::

      \printsort d 10