Matrix manipulation Question - arranging rows

For example i have the following matrix

a =    1   y    y    y    
       4   x    x    x
       2   z    z    z 
       3   h    h    h  

where the letters are random numbers

how can i re-arrange the rows depending on the value on the first colomn from lowest to highest so the matrix becomes like this

a =   1   y   y    y    
      2   z   z    z 
      3   h   h    h  
      4   x   x    x

Thank you

Answer 1

[the cyclist]

sortrows(a,1)

See the documentation for sortrows for details.