IntelliDataSort Documentation

v1.0.0

Introduction

✅ IntelliDataSort: Intelligent, Secure, Type-Aware Sorting for Real-World Data

“Sort like a human — but with enterprise-grade validation and security.”

IntelliDataSort is a high-fidelity sorting library for .NET that intelligently sorts mixed-type data (numbers, dates, versions, currencies, IP addresses, file sizes, etc.) in a way that matches human expectations — without the fragility, security risks, or ambiguity of naive string sorting.

Unlike generic sort helpers, IntelliDataSort:
  • ✅ Detects and validates data types explicitly (no guesswork)
  • ✅ Prevents injection attacks & malformed input crashes
  • ✅ Respects cultural nuances (e.g., 1,234.56 vs 1.234,56)
  • ✅ Preserves stability and null handling
  • ✅ Returns parsed values (e.g., Version → { Major=2, Minor=5 })

🔍 Why It’s Better Than Generic Sort Helpers

Feature IntelliDataSort Generic Helpers
Type-aware sorting ✅ Explicit ColumnType ❌ Heuristic-only
Security hardening ✅ Rejects "1e999", Roman numerals ❌ Vulnerable to DoS
Currency/Version parsing ✅ Full ISO 4217 + SemVer 2.0 ❌ Limited/none
File size & IP sorting ✅ Parses 1.5KB, 192.168.1.1 ❌ String sort fails
Input validation & injection protection ✅ Blocks malformed/malicious inputs ❌ No validation layer
Stable output ✅ Preserves order for equal keys ⚠️ Often unstable

💡 Perfect For:

  • Data grids & reporting tools (Blazor, WinForms, WPF)
  • CSV/Excel import pipelines
  • Log analyzers, configuration managers
  • Any mixed-data scenario ("file10.txt", "$1,250.50", "v2.1.0-beta")
    var sorter = new HumanSort();
var sorted = sorter.Sort(
    new[] { "01/15/2024", "2024-02-01", "15-Mar-2024", "03.04.2024", "May 5, 2024" },
    ColumnType.DateTime,
    ascending: true
);
// → ["01/15/2024", "03.04.2024", "2024-02-01", "15-Mar-2024", "May 5, 2024"]
🛡️ Built for production: Zero dependencies, .NET 6+ compatible and rigorously tested against edge cases.

Installation

IntelliDataSort is available as a NuGet package. Install version 1.0.0:

.NET CLI

      dotnet add package IntelliDataSort --version 1.0.0

Nuget Package Manager Console 

      Install-Package IntelliDataSort -Version 1.0.0

PackageReference (csproj) 

      <PackageReference Include="IntelliDataSort" Version="1.0.0" />

Basic Usage

💰 Currency Sorting 

    var sorter = new HumanSort();
var currencies = new[] { "€75.25", "$100.50", "£200.00", "¥10000" };
var sorted = sorter.Sort(currencies, ColumnType.Currency, ascending: true);
// → ["€75.25", "$100.50", "£200.00", "¥10000"]

✅ What it does:

  • Parses and validates standard currency formats (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, etc.)
  • Sorts **numerically within the same currency**
  • For mixed currencies, maintains stable order (no cross-currency conversion)
  • Rejects malformed inputs like "USD$100" or "100 dollars"

📊 Percentage Sorting 

      var sorter = new HumanSort();
var percentages = new[] { "50%", "100%", "-25%", "(10%)" };
var sorted = sorter.Sort(percentages, ColumnType.Percentage, ascending: true);
// → ["(10%)", "-25%", "50%", "100%"] 
// Note: "(10%)" = -10% (parentheses = negative)

✅ What it does:

  • Handles explicit signs (-25%) and accounting notation ((10%) = -10%)
  • Sorts numerically: -25% < -10% < 50% < 100%
  • Blocks invalid formats like "50 percent" or "100/2%"

📁 File Size Sorting 

      var sorter = new HumanSort();
var filesizes = new[] { "1.5KB", "10.2GiB", "500B", "2MB" };
var sorted = sorter.Sort(filesizes, ColumnType.FileSize, ascending: true);
// → ["500B", "1.5KB", "2MB", "10.2GiB"]

✅ What it does:

  • Converts mixed units (B, KB, MB, GiB) to bytes for accurate comparison
  • Distinguishes decimal (KB = 1000) vs. binary (KiB = 1024) units
  • Rejects ambiguous inputs like "10MB/s" or "100 GB" (space before unit)

🔒 Security Note

All examples automatically reject malicious inputs like:

  • Scientific notation abuse ("1e999")
  • Rejects command injection attempts like "1.0.0+$(rm -rf /)"
  • Invalid currency symbols ("100 ₿")
  • Blocks homoglyph attack, sql injection attack

Perfect for enterprise data grids, log analyzers, and financial applications!

Number

Numeric-aware sorting with hex/binary/octal support.

DateTime

Culture-aware date/time comparison and sorting.

NaturalString

Human-readable sort: "file2.txt" < "file10.txt" .

PlainString

Lexicographic (ASCII-baseline) sorting.

IpAddress

IPv4 aware sorting.

Percentage

Sort by numeric value (e.g., "50%" < "100%" ).

FileSize

Sort by byte size: "1KB" < "1MB" .

Version

SemVer-compatible version string sorting.

Currency

Parse and sort monetary values (e.g., "$10" < "$100" ).