NAME
     sort - sort or merge files

SYNTAX
     sort [-bfnr] [+pos1 [-pos2]] [-o name] [-t path] [file_list]

DESCRIPTION
    Sort sorts lines of all the named files together and writes the result 
    on the standard output.  The name `-' means the standard input.  If no 
    input files are named, the standard input is sorted.

    The default sort key is an entire line.  Default ordering is lexicographic
    by bytes. The ordering is affected globally by the following options, one 
    or more of which may appear.

    b   Ignore leading blanks (spaces and tabs) in field comparisons.

    f   Fold upper case letters onto lower case.

    n   An initial numeric string, consisting of optional blanks, optional 
	minus sign, and zero or more digits with optional decimal point, is 
	sorted by arithmetic value.  Option n implies option b.

    r   Reverse the sense of comparisons.

    The notation +pos1 -pos2 restricts a sort key to a field beginning at 
    pos1 and ending just before pos2.  Pos1 and pos2 each have the form m.n 
    where m tells a number of fields to skip from the beginning of the line 
    and n tells a number of characters to skip further.  A missing .n means .0;
    a missing -pos2 means the end of the line.  Fields are nonempty nonblank 
    strings separated by blanks, where blanks include the characters SP and HT
    (' ' and ^I).

    When there are multiple sort keys, later keys are compared only after all 
    earlier keys compare equal.  Lines that otherwise compare equal are ordered
    with all bytes significant.

    These option arguments are also understood:

    o   The next argument is the name of an output file to use instead of the 
	standard output.  This file may be the same as one of the inputs.

    t   The next argument is the name of a path (drive, directory) in which 
	temporary files should be made.  Temporary files will only be created
	when the number of input lines exceed 1000 lines. 

EXAMPLES
    Print in alphabetical order a list of words.  Capitalized words are grouped
    with uncapitalized words.

	sort -bf list

    Print in reverse numerical order (large numbers first) a directory 
    listing.

	ls -s | sort -nr +1

FILES
    Temporary files have the name sorttemp.xxx where xxx is a number from 0 to
    999.  These files are deleted if sort successfully completes (i.e. if the 
    user doesn't interrupt the program).

SEE ALSO
     uniq, comm, rev
