GNU bug report logs - #42211
Problem in sort

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Richard Freedman <rfreedman <at> seti.org>
To: "bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org" <bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org>
Subject: Problem in sort
Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2020 21:39:46 +0000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

When I use sort -n -c on a specified column in a file sort reports an error and then stops if two numbers are exactly the same. I want the sort to find actual sort errors, i.e. number (n+1) < number(n). This negates the use of sort -n -c on large files to find files that are actually out of order. Any way to fix this ?

regards,

Richard Freedman
rfreedman <at> seti.org<mailto:rfreedman <at> seti.org>

richard.s.freedman <at> nasa.gov<mailto:richard.s.freedman <at> nasa.gov>

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Message #8 received at 42211 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: Richard Freedman <rfreedman <at> seti.org>
Cc: 42211 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#42211: Problem in sort
Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2020 01:52:13 -0700

On 7/4/20 2:39 PM, Richard Freedman wrote:
> When I use sort -n -c on a specified column in a file sort reports an error and then stops if two numbers are exactly the same.

Could you send us the input, and the output of "sort --debug -n -c -k3"
(assuming you're using column 3)? My guess is that the output will explain the
symptoms you're seeing, but if not then we'd like to see the test case. Thanks.

Message #13 received at 42211-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
To: Richard Freedman <rfreedman <at> seti.org>
Cc: 42211-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#42211: Problem in sort
Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2020 13:31:42 -0700

On 7/5/20 9:53 PM, Richard Freedman wrote:

> I discovered that trying to use -c with --debug causes an error - but not in the version that I have
> on my mac laptop !

Ah, I had meant to suggest using --debug without -c.

> when I try to specify a "key" even for a file with only 1 column - the program stops on consecutive entries
> that are identical.

When all keys compare equal, 'sort' falls back on a last-resort comparison of
the entire line to break ties, and it's finding that your lines are out of
order. You don't want 'sort' to do that, so you should specify the -s (--stable)
option. -s is a GNU extension.

Closing the bug report, as this should fix the problem for you.

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