content_image/787461.jpg
<p>\u0047</p> 

•The <i>  shift rule indicates that one character sorts identically to another. The following rules cause ’b’ to sort the same as ’a’ : 

<reset>a</reset> <i>b</i> 

•Abbreviated shift syntax specifies multiple shift rules using a single pair of tags. The following table shows the correspondence between abbreviated syntax rules and the equivalent nonabbreviated rules. 

<img src='content_image/787461.jpg'>

•An expansion is a reset rule that establishes an anchor point for a multiple-character sequence. MySQL supports expansions 2 to 6 characters long. The following rules put ’z’  greater at the primary level than the sequence of three characters ’abc’ : 

<reset>abc</reset> <p>z</p> 

•A contraction is a shift rule that sorts a multiple-character sequence. MySQL supports contractions 2 to 6 characters long. The following rules put the sequence of three characters ’xyz’  greater at the primary level than ’a’ : 

<reset>a</reset> <p>xyz</p> 

•Long expansions and long contractions can be used together. These rules put the sequence of three characters ’xyz’  greater at the primary level than the sequence of three characters ’abc’ : 

<reset>abc</reset> <p>xyz</p> 

•Normal expansion syntax uses <x>  plus <extend>  elements to specify an expansion. The following rules put the character ’k’  greater at the secondary level than the sequence ’ch’ . That is, ’k’ behaves as if it expands to a character after ’c’  followed by ’h’ : 

<reset>c</reset> <x><s>k</s><extend>h</extend></x> 

This syntax permits long sequences. These rules sort the sequence ’ccs’  greater at the tertiary level than the sequence ’cscs’ : 

<reset>cs</reset> <x><t>ccs</t><extend>cs</extend></x> 

The LDML specification describes normal expansion syntax as “tricky.”  See that specification for details. 

•Previous context syntax uses <x>  plus <context>  elements to specify that the context before a character affects how it sorts. The following rules put ’-’  greater at the secondary level than ’a’ , but only when ’-’  occurs after ’b’ : 

<reset>a</reset> 

