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sort

sort is a command-line utility used to sort lines of text files. It can sort data in various ways, such as numerically, alphabetically, or by specific fields.

Basic Syntax

sort [options] [file...]

Commonly Used Options

  • -b: Ignore leading blanks.

  • -d: Consider only blanks and alphanumeric characters.

  • -f: Fold lowercase to uppercase characters.

  • -g: Compare according to general numerical value.

  • -i: Consider only printable characters.

  • -M: Compare (unknown) < 'JAN' < ... < 'DEC'.

  • -n: Compare according to string numerical value.

  • -r: Reverse the result of comparisons.

  • -k pos1[,pos2]: Sort by a key.

  • -t char: Use char as the field separator.

  • -u: Output only the first of an equal run.

  • -o file: Write result to file instead of standard output.

  • -c: Check for sorted input; do not sort.

  • -C: Check for sorted input; do not sort, and exit with status 0 if the input is sorted.

Examples

Basic Sort

Sort the lines in a file alphabetically:

sort file.txt

Sort and Save to a File

Sort the lines in a file and save the result to another file:

sort file.txt -o sorted_file.txt

Numeric Sort

Sort the lines in a file numerically:

sort -n file.txt

Reverse Sort

Sort the lines in a file in reverse order:

sort -r file.txt

Sort by a Specific Field

Sort the lines in a file by the second field (assuming fields are separated by spaces):

sort -k 2 file.txt

Sort by a Specific Field with a Custom Separator

Sort the lines in a file by the second field, using a comma as the field separator:

sort -t ',' -k 2 file.csv

Ignore Leading Blanks

Sort the lines in a file, ignoring leading blanks:

sort -b file.txt

Case-Insensitive Sort

Sort the lines in a file, ignoring case differences:

sort -f file.txt

Unique Sort

Sort the lines in a file and remove duplicates:

sort -u file.txt

Check if File is Sorted

Check if the lines in a file are sorted:

sort -c file.txt

Sort by Month

Sort the lines in a file by month name:

sort -M file.txt

Conclusion

sort is a versatile tool for sorting lines of text files based on various criteria. Understanding its options allows for efficient and powerful text sorting directly from the command line.

Last modified: 14 December 2024
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