Linux: Sort Lines
This page shows how to sort lines in a file using linux shell command.
Here's basic examples:
sort fileName
- Sort lines of a file. Comparison done as string.
sort -n fileName
- Sort by considering beginning of lines as numbers.
sort -k n fileName
-
Sort by n th column.
By default, space or tab is used as delimitor for columns. Use option-t
for different separator. For examplesort -t ',' -k 2n myFile
sort -r fileName
- Decending sort
Examples to sort by nth column:
# sort by 2nd column. Comparison done as string sort -k 2 myFile # sort by 2nd column, and preserve original order if 2nd column are same sort -s -k 2 myFile # sort by 2nd column, Comparison done as number. Preserve original order if possible. sort -s -k 2n myFile
Here's a more complex example:
# decending sort by 2nd column as string, if tie, sort by 3rd column as number. sort -k 2r -k 3n myFile