Sort a text aggregate created with array_agg in postgresql

Question

I have a table in postgresql. The following table \"animals\" will do to explain my problem:

name
------
tiger
cat
dog

Now I am using the follo

Answer 1

Although Matthew Wood's answer is better for your case, here is a way to sort arrays in PostgreSQL 8.4 and up:

SELECT array(
    SELECT unnest(array[3,2,1]) AS x ORDER BY x
);

Knowing the array and unnest functions can be handy, since it also lets you do things like "map" over an array:

SELECT array(
    SELECT x*x FROM (SELECT unnest(array[1,2,3]) AS x) as subquery
);

Again, this can be yours for the price of PostgreSQL 8.4 .