Alternatives to hidden functions (eval() and sort())

Question

Does anyone have alternatives (internal or plugin) to the internal functions eval() and sort()? 
 It has been indicated in previous posts that these functions are hidden functions and are not for general use. We wish to avoid using these as they could be modified or removed at any point for future versions.

harrisont606 · Answer

For eval, I would caution that even if there was a supported version that it is usually best not to use it. Eval basically makes you vulnerable to injection type attacks.

Colton Beck · Answer

I do not believe this is written anywhere in the documentation. This would be helpful to users who may unwittingly leverage these hidden functions based on others' suggestions.

codys · Answer

It is highly unlikely that these functions will be modified significantly or removed as that would disrupt countless customer projects.

srinandhavin5120 · Answer

Find below the links to a Shared Component - Sort Utilities as an alternative to sort () function - 
 Forum Link To Sort Utilities 
 Community Link To Sort Utilities 
 This custom function plug-in has three functions that allow you to sort an array (decimal, integer or text) either in ascending or descending order (based on the second parameter; a boolean). Both the parameters are mandatory. 
 sortdecimalarray(decimalArray, isDescendingOrder ) 
 sortintegerarray(integerArray, isDescendingOrder) 
 sorttextarray(stringArray, isDescendingOrder )

Mike Schmitt · Answer

I don't know of any replacement for eval(). There probably isn't one. 
 for sorting, though, topaginginfo() can be used to sort arbitrary data in a batch on demand -- appian even had at least one common object for this. Here is APN_sortComplexTypes: 
 =with(
 local!ascending: rule!APN_replaceNull(ri!ascending, false()),
 if(
 rule!APN_isBlank(ri!field), 
 todatasubset(ri!cdt, fn!topaginginfo(1,-1)).data,
 todatasubset(ri!cdt, rule!APN_pagingInfo1Sort(field: ri!field, ascending: local!ascending)).data
 )
)

Lakshmi Meyyappan · Answer

If you have a limited number of functions that you're using inside eval(), then an option would be to create an expression rule that chooses between them. The rule would take in two inputs, a string to indicate which function to choose, and a dictionary of inputs to pass into the function. This is what the rule could look like:

choose(
wherecontains(ri!function, {"sum", "floor", "concat"}),
sum(ri!inputs),
floor(number: index(ri!inputs, "number", {}), significance: index(ri!inputs, "significance", {})),
concat(ri!inputs)
)

Then you would call
rule!evaluate(function: "floor", inputs: {number: 15.5, significance: 1})

Alternatives to hidden functions (eval() and sort())

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