sortkey
Noun
A key (field or value) by which data items are sorted.
- Examples
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Output conversion routines may be applied to sortkey items before they are sorted.
Sortkeys are made by picking out delimiting characters and special signs.
More examples (1)
In data-processing terminology, descriptors by which a file is ordered are called sortkeys. (Likewise, descriptors used in searching are called search keys.) A library catalog may be arranged by sortkey 1: author, and sortkey 2: title.
Word forms
sortkeyssort key