Hexadecimal sort is already the same as alphabetic sort. The main problem with IPv6 addresses is that zeroes get truncated all over the place. :: could mean :00

Hexadecimal sort is already the same as alphabetic sort. The main problem with IPv6 addresses is that zeroes get truncated all over the place. :: could mean :0000: or :0000:0000:0000:. It's not impossible to solve by any means, but pure hexadecimal sort wouldn't work.