The sort command in Linux and Unix-like systems is used to sort the lines of a text file or the output of a command. It can sort the lines alphabetically or numerically and can also sort in reverse order.
Here is the basic syntax for the sort command:
sort [options] [file]
file is the name of the file you want to sort.
Here are some examples of the sort command:
1. To sort the lines of a file called “file1.txt” in alphabetical order:
$ sort file1.txt
2. To sort the lines of a file called “file1.txt” in reverse order
$ sort -r file1.txt
Note: The -r option is used to sort the lines in reverse order.
3. To sort the output of a command
$ ls -la | sort
Note: The | symbol is used to pipe the output of one command to another. In this case it is piping the output of the ls -la command to the sort command.
4. To sort the lines of a file numerically
$ sort -n file1.txt
Note: The -n option is used to sort the lines numerically.
5. To ignore leading blanks while sorting
$ sort -b file1.txt
Note: The -b option is used to ignore leading blanks while sorting
6. To sort the lines based on the second field
$ sort -k 2 file1.txt
Note: The -k option is used to sort the lines based on a specific field