         const obj1String:String = column.itemToString(obj1, dataFieldPath, null, formatter);
         const obj2String:String = column.itemToString(obj2, dataFieldPath, null, formatter);
         
-        if ( obj1String < obj2String )
-            return -1;
-        
-        if ( obj1String > obj2String )
-            return 1;
-        
-        return 0;
+        return ObjectUtil.stringCompare(obj1String, obj2String);
     }
 
     //--------------------------------------------------------------------------

    /**
     *  @private
     */
    private function dispatchChangeEvent(type:String):void
    {
        if (hasEventListener(type))
            dispatchEvent(new Event(type));
    }
    
    /**


package spark.components.gridClasses
{
    import flash.events.Event;
    import flash.events.EventDispatcher;

    import mx.core.ClassFactory;
    import mx.core.IFactory;
    import mx.events.CollectionEvent;
    import mx.events.CollectionEventKind;
    import mx.events.PropertyChangeEvent;
    import mx.formatters.IFormatter;
    import mx.styles.IAdvancedStyleClient;
    import mx.utils.ObjectUtil;

    import spark.collections.SortField;
    import spark.components.Grid;

    use namespace mx_internal;

/**
 *  The GridColumn class defines a column of a Spark grid control,
