Addresses issue #17.

sorting/date-dd-MMM-yyyy.js

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*
+ * Adds a new sorting option to dataTables called <code>date-dd-mmm-yyyy</code>. Also
+ * includes a type detection plug-in. Matches and sorts date strings in
+ * the format: <code>(dd/mmm/yyyy</code>. For example:
+ *   <ul>
+ *      <li>02-FEB-1978</li>
+ *      <li>17-MAY-2013</li>
+ *      <li>31-JAN-2014</li>
+ *   </ul>
+ *
+ *  @name Date dd-mmm-yyyy
+ *  @anchor date-dd-mmm-yyyy
+ *  @author <a href="http://www.appliedinter.net/jeromy_works/">Jeromy French</a>
+ */
+
+var customDateDDMMMYYYYToOrd = function (date) {
+	"use strict"; //let's avoid tom-foolery in this function
+	// Convert to a number YYYYMMDD which we can use to order
+	var dateParts = date.split(/-/);
+	return (dateParts[2] * 10000) + ($.inArray(dateParts[1].toUpperCase(), ["JAN", "FEB", "MAR", "APR", "MAY", "JUN", "JUL", "AUG", "SEP", "OCT", "NOV", "DEC"]) * 100) + dateParts[0];
+};
+
+// This will help DataTables magic detect the "dd-MMM-yyyy" format; Unshift so that it's the first data type (so it takes priority over existing)
+jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.aTypes.unshift(
+	function (sData) {
+		"use strict"; //let's avoid tom-foolery in this function
+		if (/^([0-2]?\d|3[0-1])-(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)-\d{4}/i.test(sData)) {
+			return 'date-dd-mmm-yyyy';
+		}
+		return null;
+	}
+);
+
+// define the sorts
+jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.oSort['date-dd-mmm-yyyy-asc'] = function (a, b) {
+	"use strict"; //let's avoid tom-foolery in this function
+	var ordA = customDateDDMMMYYYYToOrd(a),
+		ordB = customDateDDMMMYYYYToOrd(b);
+	return (ordA < ordB) ? -1 : ((ordA > ordB) ? 1 : 0);
+};
+
+jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.oSort['date-dd-mmm-yyyy-desc'] = function (a, b) {
+	"use strict"; //let's avoid tom-foolery in this function
+	var ordA = customDateDDMMMYYYYToOrd(a),
+		ordB = customDateDDMMMYYYYToOrd(b);
+	return (ordA < ordB) ? 1 : ((ordA > ordB) ? -1 : 0);
+};