ColumnDistinctValue String Ordering Became More Friendly

Author: HaikAsatryan

src/GridifyExtensions/Extensions/QueryableExtensions.cs

@@ -254,9 +254,23 @@ public static async Task<PagedResponse<object>> ColumnDistinctValuesAsync<TEntit
             }
          }
 
-         var result = await baseQuery
-                            .Distinct()
-                            .OrderBy(x => x)
+         // smart ordering for string values ---
+         var orderedQuery = baseQuery.Distinct();
+
+         if (typeof(string).IsAssignableFrom(orderedQuery.ElementType))
+         {
+            var stringQuery = (IQueryable<string?>)orderedQuery;
+
+            orderedQuery = stringQuery
+                           .OrderBy(x => x == null ? int.MaxValue : x.Length) // shorter first
+                           .ThenBy(x => x)!; // then lexicographic
+         }
+         else
+         {
+            orderedQuery = orderedQuery.OrderBy(x => x);
+         }
+
+         var result = await orderedQuery
                             .Take(take)
                             .ToListAsync(cancellationToken);
 

src/GridifyExtensions/GridifyExtensions.csproj

@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@
         <PackageReadmeFile>Readme.md</PackageReadmeFile>
         <Authors>Pandatech</Authors>
         <Copyright>MIT</Copyright>
-        <Version>2.1.4</Version>
+        <Version>2.1.5</Version>
         <PackageId>Pandatech.GridifyExtensions</PackageId>
         <Title>Pandatech.Gridify.Extensions</Title>
         <PackageTags>Pandatech, library, Gridify, Pagination, Filters</PackageTags>
         <Description>Pandatech.Gridify.Extensions simplifies and extends the functionality of the Gridify NuGet package. It provides additional extension methods and functionality to streamline data filtering and pagination, making it more intuitive and powerful to use in .NET applications. Our enhancements ensure more flexibility, reduce boilerplate code, and improve overall developer productivity when working with Gridify.</Description>
         <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/PandaTechAM/be-lib-gridify-extensions</RepositoryUrl>
-        <PackageReleaseNotes>ColumnDistinctValue Encrypted Column Null Handling</PackageReleaseNotes>
+        <PackageReleaseNotes>ColumnDistinctValue String Ordering Became More Friendly</PackageReleaseNotes>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
     <ItemGroup>
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
     </ItemGroup>
 
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="Gridify.EntityFramework" Version="2.17.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Gridify.EntityFramework" Version="2.17.2" />
         <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.OpenApi" Version="9.0.8" />
     </ItemGroup>