Re: Minor updates to sort ?

[Paul Goyette <paul%whooppee.com@localhost>]

(Commenting in-line, not top-posting!)

On Sun, 29 May 2016, Robert Elz wrote:

>    Date:        Sat, 28 May 2016 22:29:51 -0700
>    From:        Alistair Crooks <agc%pkgsrc.org@localhost>
>    Message-ID:  <CAN5gJXqdQR2Di0+RdH8esA+m9M5JohMW3WjkovCh-Q7O+Pjyow%mail.gmail.com@localhost>
>
>  | Living on the edge and top posting aggresively, these changes would be good
>  | to have.

I also agree - these are all good changes.

> OK, but I will wait a day or two more to allow for more comments (or
> more suggested improvements.)
>
> I was asked (in off-list mail) to also add something to the manual about
> how multiple -k args work.   This is more verbose that what was suggested...

(I made this off-list comment...)

>     sort compares records by comparing the key fields selected by -k
>     arguments, from first given to last, until discovering a difference.  If
>     there are no -k arguments, the whole record is treated as the key.  After
>     exhausting the -k arguments, if no difference has been found, then the
>     result depends upon the -u and -S option settings.  With -u the records
>     are considered identical, and one is supressed.  Otherwise with -s set
>     (default) the records are left in their original order, or with -S (posix
>     mode) the whole record is considered as a tie breaker.

Maybe update 2nd sentence?

	If there are no -k arguments, the whole record is treated as a
	single key.
> I also (now) have (currently anyway) in the proposed updated man page, the
> following commented text immediately after the paragraph above ...
>
> .\"
> .\" If you fail to understand why it doesn't matter which order
> .\" the records are output when they are wholly identical, there
> .\" is nothing that this man page can say that wll help!
> .\"
>
> (This is because there is a comment in the posix spec about this
> being unspecified...)

Posix can be so helpful at times, and at other times, not so much ...



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