Sort

Sort is a Unix, Linux, Posix and GNU compatible sort program that runs in Java virtual machine. In addition to command line mode, it has GUI mode. From version 1.1.0, it support CSV format files.

1 How to run

1. From command line shell, type java -jar Sort.jar [arguments]
2. From GUI shell, double-click Sort.jar icon.

It runs in GUI mode if no arguments are specified.

2 Command line arguments

Sort 1.0 - Sort text files
usage: Sort [option ...] [input-file ...]
 -b,--ignore-leading-blanks        ignore leading blanks
    --batch-size <NMERGE>          merge at most NMERGE inputs at once; for more
                                   use temp files
 -c                                check for sorted input; do not sort
 -C                                like -c, but do not report first bad line
    --check <[arg]>                none|diagnose-first: the same as -c,
                                   quiet|silent: the same as -C
    --cli                          run in CLI mode
    --compress-program <PROG>      compress temporaries with PROG; decompress
                                   them with PROG -d.  (Embedded GZIP is used
                                   regardless of PROG)
    --CSV                          read input as CSV(Character Separated Values) format
 -d,--dictionary-order             consider only blanks and alphanumeric
                                   characters
    --debug                        annotate the part of the line used to sort,
                                   and warn about questionable usage to stderr
    --encoding <CHARSET>           use CHARSET to read and write.
                                   CHARSET:=charset|in-charset, out-charset
 -f,--ignore-case                  fold lower case to upper case characters
    --files0-from <F>              read input from the files specified by
                                   NUL-terminated names in file F; If F is '-'
                                   then read names from standard input
 -g,--general-numeric-sort         compare according to general numerical value
 -h,--human-numeric-sort           compare human readable numbers (e.g., 2K 1G)
    --header <n [, every|first]>   n: the number of header lines, every: every
                                   file has header lines, first: only the first
                                   file has header lines.
    --help                         show help message
 -i,--ignore-nonprinting           consider only printable characters
 -k,--key <KEYDEF>                 sort via a key; KEYDEF gives location and
                                   type
    --locale <LOCALE>              use LOCALE for collation; none, default or
                                   language [, country [, variant]].
                                   LOCALE:=locale|text-locale,number-locale
 -M,--month-sort                   compare (unknown) < 'JAN' < ... < 'DEC'
 -m,--merge                        merge already sorted files; do not sort
 -n,--numeric-sort                 compare according to string numerical value
 -o,--output <FILE>                write result to FILE instead of standard
                                   output
    --parallel <N>                 change the number of sorts run concurrently
                                   to N
 -R,--random-sort                  shuffle, but group identical keys.
 -r,--reverse                      reverse the result of comparisons
    --random-source <FILE>         get random bytes from FILE
 -s,--stable                       stabilize sort by disabling last-resort
                                   comparison
 -S,--buffer-size <SIZE>           use SIZE for main memory buffer
    --sort <WORD>                  sort according to WORD: general-numeric -g,
                                   human-numeric -h, numeric -n, month -M,
                                   random -R, version -V
 -t,--field-separator <SEP>        use SEP instead of non-blank to blank
                                   transition. SEP:=c|'c'|'\t'|'/t'
 -T,--temporary-directory <DIR>    use DIR for temporaries, not TMPDIR
 -u,--unique                       with -c, check for strict ordering; without
                                   -c, output only the first of an equal run
 -V,--version-sort                 natural sort of (version) numbers within text
 -z,--zero-terminated              line delimiter is NUL, not newline

KEYDEF is F[.C][OPTS][,F[.C][OPTS]] for start and stop position, where F is a
field number and C a character position in the field; both are origin 1, and
the stop position defaults to the line's end.  If neither -t nor -b is in
effect, characters in a field are counted from the beginning of the preceding
whitespace.  OPTS is one or more single-letter ordering options [bdfgiMhnRrV],
which override global ordering options for that key.  If no key is given, use
the entire line as the key.  Use --debug to diagnose incorrect key usage.

SIZE may be followed by the following multiplicative suffixes:
% 1% of memory, b 1, K 1024 (default), and so on for M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y.

The standard options are described in detail, for example, at https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/sort-invocation.html. In additon to the standard options, the following options are available.

Option	Arguments	Description
--cli	-	Forces to run in CLI mode. Use it when there are no other options to specifiy.
--encoding	in-charset [, out-charset]	Input and output encodings. Specify only one when they are the same.
--header	n [, every|first]	The number of header lines of every or first file.
--locale	text-locale [, number-locale]	Text and number locales. Specify only one when they are the same. Text-locale is used for collation and number-locale is used to decide number format.

3 GUI main window

Element	Description
In file	Input file. Use the button to pop up a file browser. You can drop a file icon into the text field, as well.
Out file	Output file. Use the button to pop up a file browser. You can drop a file icon into the text field, as well.
Encoding.Input	Input file encoding. Automatic means to use heuristic logic to decide the file encoding. Default means the system default file encoding.
Encoding.Output	Output file encoding. Automatic means to use the same encoding as input. Default means the system default file encoding.
Locale.Text	Text locale to decide text collation.
Locale.Number	Number locale to decide number format (decimal point and thousand separator).
Field separator	A character to separate fields. Default means zero-length string between non-blank character and blank character. \t for tab code.
Stable	To specify stable sort option.
Unique	To specify unique option which eliminates output lines of the same key values.
Header	The number of header lines. The header is copied from input to output not sorting.
Buffer size	Internal sort buffer size
CSV	CSV file format
Start Field #	Field number where th key starts. BOL means the beginning of line.
Start Char #	Character position of the field where the key starts. Blank means the beginning of the field.
Start Skip blanks	Specifies to skip blanks to find the key position.
End Field #	Field number where th key ends. EOL means the end of line.
End Char #	Character position of the field where the key ends. Blank means the end of the field.
End Skip blanks	Specifies to skip blanks to find the end of key position.
Sort Kind	Comparison method
Ignore	Ignore filter
Translate	Translate filter
Reverse	Reverses the comparison to make it descending sort.
Add	Adds a new key
Remove	Removes the key
Up	Moves up the key
Down	Moves down the key
Sort	Starts sorting

Version history

1.0.0 Feb 23, 2017 Initial release

1.1.0 May 11, 2024

• Supported CSV files
• Fixed Skip end blanks processing