Order by Column Alias

[ShadowMage]

I have the following SQL query:

select Project.ProjectID, <<long string of functions to parse state>> as State from Project Project where (Project.Character05 LIKE '%, FL %'  OR Project.Character05 LIKE '%, GA %' OR Project.Character05 LIKE '%, NY %') order by State

The above query fails, stating that there is an unknown column (referring to the alias in the ORDER BY clause). I know it is referring to the alias in the ORDER BY because if I remove the ORDER BY, the query works.If I put backticks around State (...order by `State`) I get an error complaining of a syntax error (no other details, just that there is a syntax error). Single quotes (...order by 'State') runs the query, but doesn't actually sort the results. Double quotes (...order by "State") gives me the same result as no quotes. I have tried each variation of the ORDER BY with and without the corresponding quotes on the original alias as well (ie, ...as `State`, ...as 'State', ...as "State"). It doesn't seem to like the backticks because those give me an error no matter where they are placed (even if I put them by the original alias and remove the ORDER BY). This is running on a Progress database. Can anybody help? How do I get it to sort based on the alias?

[dsonesuk]

have you tried

select Project.ProjectID, <<long string of functions to parse state>> as 'State' from Project Project where (Project.Character05 LIKE '%, FL %'  OR Project.Character05 LIKE '%, GA %' OR Project.Character05 LIKE '%, NY %') order by State

single quotes around alias 'State' with no quotes around ORDER BY State

[ShadowMage]

Yep, I get the 'unknown column' error.