UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

So, suppose I want to sort something in some arbitrary order... for example, let's say I have "grades" (actually, work evaluation results where I work) that are, from best to worst, E, A, S, D, P. So, I want to sort by a "grade" column with the E's first, then the A's, etc. Is there a reasonably straightforward way to create an arbitrary sort order like this? It can be done readily in awk and other languages, but I'm wondering about the sort command itself.

Another application might also be sorting -h output for the ls or du commands-- sort order T, G, M, K, B (or nothing).

one way, assuming only those letters appear, something like:

Code:

sed 'y/EASDP/ABCDE/' infile | sort | sed 'y/ABCDE/EASDP/'

i.e. transpose your letters to a standard sortable alphabet, then sort, and map back...

Hi.

The command msort is in the Debian repository. One of its features is:

Code:

For each key an arbitrary sort order may be specified. Msort also understands locales.

If not in your repository, see: MSORT

Best wishes ... cheers, drl