Recently, I had a text file that I had created by using pdf2text - it's a great way to get data out of pdfs into a useful format. Anyway, the data ended up being in "filename.txt" the form:

2 Peter
7 Alice
5 Fred

I needed it sorted. But how? The "sort" command came ot the rescue. Typing this:

sort filename.txt

Gave this output:

2 Peter
5 Fred
7 Alice

However, I wanted it sorted on the second field, that is the names. "sort" can do this too:

sort -d -k 2 filename.txt

Brief explanation: The '-d' switch stands for 'dictionary sort' and ensures that sorting takes place alphabetically as a dictionary would do it. The '-k' switch stands for 'key' and with the '2' tells sort to sort on the second field in the file, that is the names. The fields themselves are separated by spaces.

Save/Share: Stumble It!  Subscribe Share on Facebook Digg it Reddit Delicious