Sort by by custom field work incorrect for mix of positive and negative numeric values

[PeterKvayt]

Which Umbraco version are you using?

15.3.0

Bug summary

Custom numeric properties seem to be treated as string values during ordering by them.

Specifics

Here is the uSync for reproduce the environment:

usync-export.zip

Steps to reproduce

2025-04-13.16-18-35.mp4

Expected result / actual result

We have the following values: 1, 2, 3, 4, -2, -3
Actual: asc order: 1, 2, 3, 4, -2, -3; desc order: -3, -2, 4, 3, 2, 1
Expected: asc order: -3, -2, 1, 2, 3, 4; desc order: 4, 3, 2, 1, -2, -3

P.S.: it seems this behavior caused by the following code:

[github-actions]

Hi there @PeterKvayt!

Firstly, a big thank you for raising this issue. Every piece of feedback we receive helps us to make Umbraco better.

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[AndyButland]

I can reproduce this, but it appears to be only an issue when you have a mix of positive and negative numeric values. I've amended the title to reflect that.

Digging a little, it doesn't look to be a straightforward fix but I'm open to suggestions.

The following SQL illustrates what's currently done to order by these columns, and as you can see, it doesn't account for mixed signs:

CREATE TABLE Test (
	Value int NOT NULL
)
GO

INSERT INTO Test VALUES (-2)
INSERT INTO Test VALUES (-1)
INSERT INTO Test VALUES (0)
INSERT INTO Test VALUES (1)
INSERT INTO Test VALUES (2)
GO


SELECT Value, REPLACE(STR(Value, 8), SPACE(1), '0') ValueAsOrderableInteger
FROM Test
ORDER BY ValueAsOrderableInteger

DROP TABLE Test
GO