Linux shell sort file according to the second column?
LinuxShellLinux Problem Overview
I have a file like this:
FirstName, FamilyName, Address, PhoneNumber
How can I sort it by FamilyName?
Linux Solutions
Solution 1 - Linux
If this is UNIX:
sort -k 2 file.txt
You can use multiple -k flags to sort on more than one column. For example, to sort by family name then first name as a tie breaker:
sort -k 2,2 -k 1,1 file.txt
Relevant options from "man sort":
> ### -k, --key=POS1[,POS2] > start a key at POS1, end it at POS2 (origin 1) > > POS is F[.C][OPTS], where F is the field number and C the character position in the field. OPTS is one or more single-letter ordering options, which override global ordering options for that key. If no key is given, use the entire line as the key. > > ### -t, --field-separator=SEP > use SEP instead of non-blank to blank transition >
Solution 2 - Linux
To sort by second field only (thus where second fields match, those lines with matches remain in the order they are in the original without sorting on other fields) :
sort -k 2,2 -s orig_file > sorted_file
Solution 3 - Linux
sort -nk2 file.txt
Accordingly you can change column number.
Solution 4 - Linux
FWIW, here is a sort method for showing which processes are using the most virt memory.
memstat | sort -k 1 -t':' -g -r | less
Sort options are set to first column, using : as column seperator, numeric sort and sort in reverse.