Re: how do I sort numerically on sections of data that is alphanumeric

[Brovnik]

Or, there is the Schwartzian Transform.

# array is in @sorted
my @sorted =
map  {$_->[0] }
sort {$a->[2] <=> $b->[2] or
      substr($a->[3],1) <=> substr($b->[3],1)}
map  {[$_,split)] } @unsorted;

Note: If the 'A' in column 3 is always 'A' and the columns are null padded, then you don't need the substr and can use

sort { $a->[2] <=> $b->[2] or $a->[3] cmp $b->[3] }

Note the switch to cmp since this now a string.
--
Brovnik