Sort Files Like A Master With The Linux Sort Command (Bash)

If you do your development work in Linux, there are certain commands that you owe it to yourself to master fully. There are a number of these with the main ones being grep, find and sort. Just about everyone has at least a passing familiarity with these commands, but with most people the knowledge is superficial, they don't even realise how powerful those commands can be. So, if you really put in the effort to master them, not only will you make your own life much easier, but you will also be able to impress all you friends with your elite Linux skills when you pair with them :). I will cover grep and find (as well as other valuable commands) in subsequent posts – here we will concentrate on sort.

Note: I am using bash, so your mileage might vary if you're using a different shell.

Sorting is a fundamental task when it comes to programming, if you have a decent knowledge of various sorting algorithms, their advantages and disadvantages, you will be a better software developer for it. However, often enough you just don't need to draw on this deeper knowledge. Whether you're answering an interview question about sorting or simply need to quickly sort some data in you day to day work – the Linux sort command is your friend.

The extent of most people's knowledge ends with:

sort some_file.txt

Read more: SKORKS

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