Add better file sorting options

[TomPlanche]

Release Notes:

• Improved file sorting. As described in #20126, I was fed up with lexicographical file sorting in the project panel. The current sorting behavior doesn't handle numeric segments properly, leading to unintuitive ordering like file_1.rs, file_10.rs, file_2.rs.

Overview

This PR adds a new setting's field file_sorting to control how files are sorted in the app. For now, it introduces two sorting strategies:

• lexicographical (default) - The existing sorting behavior
• alphabetical - Natural sorting that handles numeric segments properly

Implementation Details

• Added a new file_sorting settings field in default.json with a strategy field.
• Created SortStrategy enum with Lexicographical and Alphabetical variants.
• Implemented natural sorting algorithm that properly handles numeric segments in filenames.
• Updated path comparison functions to use the configured sort strategy.
• Modified relevant code in project panel and file finder to respect the sort strategy setting.
• Added unit tests to verify sorting behavior.

Example Configuration

{
    "file_sorting": {
        "strategy": "alphabetical" // or "lexicographical"
     }
}

Example Sorting Results

Using lexicographical (default):

├── file_01.rs
├── file_1.rs
├── file_10.rs
├── file_1025.rs
├── file_2.rs

Using alphabetical (natural) sorting:

.
├── file_1.rs
├── file_01.rs
├── file_2.rs
├── file_10.rs
├── file_1025.rs

Improvements

Future improvements to the file sorting functionality could include:

1. Add files_before_folders setting:

   {
       "file_sorting": {
           "files_before_folders": true // Controls whether files are listed before folders
       }
   }
   

   This would allow users to group all files before folders in the project panel, making it easier to find files when there are many nested directories.

2. Add uppercase_before_lowercase setting:

   {
       "file_sorting": {
           "uppercase_before_lowercase": true // Controls whether uppercase filenames are sorted before lowercase
       }
   }
   

   This would give users control over case-sensitive sorting, which is particularly useful for projects that use capitalization conventions for certain types of files (e.g., README.md, LICENSE).

3. Add specific instructions for specific targets: If for the project_panel, I want natural sorting but for the rest another stategy:

"file_sorting": {
    // all options here will be default ones for everything
    "strategy": "alphabetical",
    "project_panel": {
        "strategy": "lexicographical", // Overwritten fields
    }
}

4. Last update, last created, ...

[Angelk90]

@TomPlanche : Will this fix #24962 and #4533?

[TomPlanche]

@Angelk90 It could easily for #24962, for #4533, the type or last modified could be the next step as explained in ## Improvements of the PR comment.

I'm not sure about the #4533 Say right-click a folder and change the sort order of the files but listing folders first.

[Angelk90]

Example here we have two different sorting types, both are from Microsoft.

GitHub uses case-sensitive sorting (where uppercase letters come before lowercase ones) while VS Code uses case-insensitive sorting (ignoring whether letters are uppercase or lowercase when comparing them)

Github	Vscode

[TomPlanche]

Yes, as said in ## Improvements, we can add fields in the file_sorting object for these. I'll maybe add those later, now we have the main brick for sorting settings.

[iamnbutler]

Is there any benefit to the lexicographical sorting style we have now? If not, should we just move to alphabetical by default?

Basically, should this be a setting or should we just change the way it works be default?

[TomPlanche]

Drafting the PR, big bug found.

Trying to fix it. The tests passed, need to upgrade tests...

[TomPlanche]

@maxdeviant @iamnbutler what is the next move? Make alphabetical sorting the only option or leave the setting?

[TomPlanche]

@maxdeviant @iamnbutler @mikayla-maki any news ?

[uberjay]

I'm very excited about the prospect of alphabetical sorting... Having the macOS order firmly baked into my brain, I find the Windows order to be jarring and confusing multiple times per day. 😭

It also has the unfortunate side-effect of distancing module.rs from module/submodule.rs.

[uberjay]

One additional note: this change proposes the current sorting be named "lexicographical" -- I'm used to this meaning (roughly) alphabetical. Do you have a reference to anyone using "lexicographical" to describe Windows-style sorting?

[probably-neb]

Hey, sorry this was left behind for so long. I vote we make your method the default as @iamnbutler suggested. Happy to help or take over if you'd like. Sorry again for the delay

[TomPlanche]

@probably-neb

No problems !

Made the changes here.

Closing this PR.