Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

sort

Synopsis

sort [options] [files]

Description

Sort the lines of the named files. Compare specified fields for each pair of lines, or, if no fields are specified, compare them by byte, in machine collating sequence. See also uniq, comm, and join.

Options

-b

Ignore leading spaces and tabs.

-c

Check whether files are already sorted, and, if so, produce no output.

-d

Sort in dictionary order.

-f

Fold—ignore uppercase/lowercase differences.

--help

Print a help message and then exit.

-i

Ignore nonprinting characters (those outside ASCII range 040-176).

-m

Merge (i.e., sort as a group) input files.

-n

Sort in arithmetic order.

-o file

Put output in file.

-r

Reverse the order of the sort.

-t c

Separate fields with c (default is a tab).

-u

Identical lines in input file appear only one (unique) time in output.

-z recsz

Provide recsz bytes for any one line in the file. This option prevents abnormal termination of sort in certain cases.

+ n [-m]

Skip n fields before sorting, and sort up to field position m. If m is missing, sort to end of line. Positions take the form a.b, which means character b of field a. If .b is missing, sort at the first character of the field.

-k n[,m]

Similar to +. Skip n-1 fields and stop at m-1 fields (i.e., start sorting at the nth field, where the fields are numbered beginning with 1).

--version

Print version information and then exit.

-M

Attempt to treat the first three characters as a month designation (JAN, FEB, etc.). In comparisons, treat JAN < FEB and any ...