GNU bug report logs - #6700
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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: shtegtari <shtegtari <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: Sort question
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:46:49 -0400

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

I have a text file that I can not sort correctly with the sort command, no  
matter what switch I use.  I would send it but wanted to see first whether  
anyone reads this email.

Please respond and I will send the file.

Florent

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Message #8 received at 6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: "Gilles Espinasse" <g.esp <at> free.fr>
To: <6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>,
	"shtegtari" <shtegtari <at> gmail.com>
Subject: Re: bug#6700: Sort question
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:04:31 +0200

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "shtegtari" <shtegtari <at> gmail.com>
To: <6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 6:46 AM
Subject: bug#6700: Sort question


> I have a text file that I can not sort correctly with the sort command, no
> matter what switch I use.  I would send it but wanted to see first whether
> anyone reads this email.
>
> Please respond and I will send the file.
>
> Florent

Wich locale or LANG did you use?
Did it work better with
LC_ALL=C sort

Gilles (not an answering machine)

Message #11 received at 6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Bob Proulx <bob <at> proulx.com>
To: shtegtari <shtegtari <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#6700: Sort question
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:10:53 -0600

tags 6700 +moreinfo
thanks

shtegtari wrote:
> I have a text file that I can not sort correctly with the sort command, 
> no matter what switch I use.  I would send it but wanted to see first 
> whether anyone reads this email.
>
> Please respond and I will send the file.

Yes, people do read this mailing list.  You might get ten replies to
your posting.  But before sending a file the usual cause of confusion
is locales.  There is an FAQ entry for it.

  http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/faq/#Sort-does-not-sort-in-normal-order_0021

This is documented in the info page.

  info coreutils 'sort invocation'

     (1) If you use a non-POSIX locale (e.g., by setting `LC_ALL' to
  `en_US'), then `sort' may produce output that is sorted differently
  than you're accustomed to.  In that case, set the `LC_ALL' environment
  variable to `C'.  Note that setting only `LC_COLLATE' has two
  problems.  First, it is ineffective if `LC_ALL' is also set.  Second,
  it has undefined behavior if `LC_CTYPE' (or `LANG', if `LC_CTYPE' is
  unset) is set to an incompatible value.  For example, you get
  undefined behavior if `LC_CTYPE' is `ja_JP.PCK' but `LC_COLLATE' is
  `en_US.UTF-8'.

And the man page.

       *** WARNING *** The locale specified by the environment affects
       sort order.  Set LC_ALL=C to get the traditional sort order
       that uses native byte values.

What is your locale setting?

  $ locale

Does setting LC_ALL=C resolve your problem?

Personally I have the following set in my ~/.bashrc file.

  export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
  export LC_COLLATE=C

If that does not resolve your problem please try to reduce the test
case to the smallest possible amount that illustrates the problem.
Frequently this can be done on the command line with printf.

  $ printf "abc\nA B C\n" | sort
  A B C
  abc

Bob

Message #14 received at 6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: shtegtari <shtegtari <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 6700 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#6700: Sort question
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:10:31 -0600

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

On 07/21/2010 10:46 PM, shtegtari wrote:
> I have a text file that I can not sort correctly with the sort command,
> no matter what switch I use.  I would send it but wanted to see first
> whether anyone reads this email.

It's hard to tell you what you are doing wrong if you don't provide the
command line you used, and at least two lines of the input file that
sorted differently than you expected given the command line you used.

Meanwhile, two common things to check:

Are you sure you are using the correct locale for your needs?  Sorting
with LC_ALL=C is different than sorting with LC_ALL=en_US.UTF8, for example.

Are you sure you are specifying keys correctly?  For example, -k1 is
much different than -k1,1.

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake <at> redhat.com    +1-801-349-2682
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

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Message #21 received at 6700-close <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: shtegtari <shtegtari <at> gmail.com>, 6700-close <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#6700: Sort question
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:14:57 -0600

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

tags 6700 +notabug
thanks

[re-adding the list]

On 07/22/2010 09:09 AM, shtegtari wrote:
> Thank you very much!   Your response saved my hair from being pulled.  It was 
> the LC_ALL.

Closing this bug report, then.

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake <at> redhat.com    +1-801-349-2682
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

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