Add exception to natural sorting in datatables - datatables

Question

Is there a way to add exceptions to the natural ordering plugin, so that it ignores things like c. , [, ], ? ?
This is an example of my data:
161?
1604
[1563]
c. 1476
I'd like the sorted asc. output to be:
c. 1476
[1563]
1604
161?
Right now what I get is all the numbers first, and the strings beginning with [ afterwards.
My initialisation code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.datatables.net/plug-ins/1.10.24/sorting/natural.js"></script>
$('#sourcesList').DataTable({
"paging": false,
"columnDefs": [
{ type: 'natural-nohmtl', targets: '_all' }
],
[...]
PS: this is my data in the wild.

Answer 1

The natural sorting option takes care of certain types of numeric data which you can reasonably expect to encounter in the "real world" - such as numbers with different thousands separators, or with currency symbols of different types in different positions - or "1st", "2nd" "3rd" and so on. Don't quote me on these exact examples, as I have not looked at that add-on in detail. But that is the overall idea.
Items such as question-marks - I would not expect that add-on to handle those. Items in square brackets - same thing.
Given your clarification in a comment, I think you do not need or want this add-on.
Instead you can use a column renderer with DataTables' ability to store different versions of a value - for display, sorting, and filtering.
var dataSet = [ ["161?"], ["1604"], ["[1563]"], ["c. 1476"] ];
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#example').DataTable( {
data: dataSet,
columnDefs: [ {
type: "natural-nohmtl",
targets: [ 0 ],
title: "My Data",
"render": function ( data, type, row, meta ) {
if ( type === 'sort' ) {
//return parseInt(data.replace(/\D/g, '')); // numbers as numbers
return data.replace(/\D/g, ''); // numbers as strings
} else {
return data;
}
}
} ]
} );
} );
This saves a version of each value with all non-digits stripped from the value, using replace(/\D/g, ''). This altered version of the data is stored as the value which will be used when sorting. The unaltered version is what the user will see.
My result:
This is the case where numbers are treated as text.
You can uncomment the commented-out return statement to get numbers as numbers.
However...
This crude approach of stripping non-digits from the data meets the narrow example from your question, but it may not be sufficient for all the data you are expecting to handle. So, you may need to refine the "replace" logic.
But the render function should meet your needs, more generally.