java - Influence the order of digits and charachters in compare method -

i have wicket web application, sorts table rows in following order:

ascending:

• first charachters (a-z)
• then numbers (1-9)

now i'm writing webunit test test sorting mechanism, seems switch order of charachters , numbers like:

ascending:

• first numbers (1-9)
• then charachters (a-z)

so code fail, when sorting ascending , encounters 2 entries:

• ...
• zzz
• 111
• ...

my simplyfied sorting code:

protected int compare(string val1, string val2) {         return val1.compareto(val2); } 

what's "java way" of telling test code test order web application produces it? may collator? prefer jre solution on selfwritten comparator on 3rd party library.

you try using rulebasedcollator this:

string rule = "<a,a<b,b<c,c<[...]<'1'<'2'<'3'<'4'[...]"; rulebasedcollator collator = new rulebasedcollator(rule); return collator.compare(val1,val2);