Learning Linux Shell Scripting - Second Edition

The sort command

This command sorts the contents of a text file, line by line. The options are as follows:

• -n: Sorts as per the numeric value
• -d: Sorts as per the dictionary meaning
• -h: Compares as per the human-readable numbers (for example, 1K 2G)
• -r: Sorts in the reverse order
• -t: Option to specify a delimiter for fields
• +num: Specifies sort field numbers
• -knum: Specifies sort field numbers
• $ sort -k4 sample.txt: This will sort according to the fourth field

Sr	Examples of command usage	Explanation
1	sort sample.txt	Alphabetically sorts the lines
2	sort -u sample.txt	Duplicate entries are sorted
3	sort -r sample.txt	Reverse sort
4	sort -n -k3 sample.txt	Numerical sort of the third field