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asc_nulls_first

Returns a sort expression based on the ascending order of the given column name, and null values return before non-null values. Supports Spark Connect.

Syntax

Python
from pyspark.sql import functions as dbf

dbf.asc_nulls_first(col=<col>)

Parameters

Parameter

Type

Description

col

pyspark.sql.Column or str

Target column to sort by in the ascending order.

Parameter

Type

Description

col

pyspark.sql.Column or str

Target column to sort by in the ascending order.

Returns

pyspark.sql.Column: the column specifying the order.

Examples

Example 1: Sorting a DataFrame with null values in ascending order.

Python
from pyspark.sql import functions as dbf
df = spark.createDataFrame([(1, "Bob"), (0, None), (2, "Alice")], ["age", "name"])
df.sort(dbf.asc_nulls_first(df.name)).show()
Output
+---+-----+
|age| name|
+---+-----+
| 0| NULL|
| 2|Alice|
| 1| Bob|
+---+-----+

Example 2: Sorting a DataFrame with null values in ascending order using column name string.

Python
from pyspark.sql import functions as dbf
df = spark.createDataFrame([(1, "Bob"), (0, None), (2, "Alice")], ["age", "name"])
df.sort(dbf.asc_nulls_first("name")).show()
Output
+---+-----+
|age| name|
+---+-----+
| 0| NULL|
| 2|Alice|
| 1| Bob|
+---+-----+