If you want your tables to be sortable by your clients on runtime, like ordering the columns of strings or integers to be in ascending or descending order, then this post can be helpful.
Sort Data In Reports
If you are working on some reports where you need the columns to be sorted on runtime, then this could be done easily using JavaScript in your page.
There are plenty of websites, which provide the JavaScript file .js for free, to make your table or reports sorted on runtime, by the user.
Get Rid Of Order By Queries
By using such sorting scripts, you can get rid of sorting the columns in alphabets, numbers, or both i.e. alphanumeric, in your queries, because users can sort them easily at their end, just by clicking on the columns they want the table or data to be sorted in.
Sorting Scripts
For more details on this, I recommend the the following websites to make your reports or data sorted on runtime by the clients, by just adding a single js file in your page:
Sort String and Integer Data:
http://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/sorttable/
Sort String Data Only (Integer Sorting may not be correct) :
http://yoast.com/articles/sortable-table/