Sort by expression in a straight table: this seems to work only for expressions which give a numeric result. So a field X filled with single letters of the alphabet, if used in Sort by Expression, results in a nonsense sort if =X is used in Sort by Expression, a perfect sort if =ord(X) is used. This does not seem to be referenced in the manual.
coulumn(1) does not give the first column in a straight table, but the first expression. The manual says "Column(ColumnNo)
Returns the value found in the column ColumnNo in a straight table or a pivot table." which is not true, at least in the ordinary sense of the word column.