07-24-2006
Sorting a flat file based on multiple colums(using character position)
Hi,
I have an urgent task here. I am required to sort a flat file based on multiple columns which are based on the character position in that line. I am restricted to use the character position instead of the space and sort +1 +2 etc to do the sorting.
I understand that there is a previous post which is similar to my problem but for that case, the sorting can be done using sort +1 +2 etc.
For my case, I am unable to do it as each column may be made up of some words separated by a space etc and as such spacing is not a correct delimiter to define the column.
I need help regarding this matter, either using unix shell scripting or awk. Thanks a lot
10 More Discussions You Might Find Interesting
1. Shell Programming and Scripting
Hi All,
I have a flat file with ~ as de-limiter (e.g: aaa~ba a~caa~0~d~e)
What I want is check if the 4th character is 0 and replace it with say 4. So now it becomes : aaa~ba a~caa~4~d~e.
I have to do this for the whole file, but the delimiter position remains the same, not the... (10 Replies)
Discussion started by: akdwivedi
10 Replies
2. Shell Programming and Scripting
Please help
Need a script which will do the following :
Search on fixed width file , go to position (25,2) which means 25th and 26th position, Find if there are any char in lower case:
For example 25,2 can be (9T) or (9w) or (Ww) or (wW)....The two positions can be numeric or alpha...no... (13 Replies)
Discussion started by: ssantoshss
13 Replies
3. Shell Programming and Scripting
Hi all,
I am using this command "sort -d -u -k1 IMSTEST.74E -o tmp.txt" to the records in the flat.
Can any tell me how to sort the file except first line in the file
For ex:
i/p
First line: DXYZ
Second line : jumy
third : cmhk
fourth : andy
Output should... (5 Replies)
Discussion started by: sudhir_barker
5 Replies
4. Shell Programming and Scripting
How to extract multiple data based on character position. I need to fetch from 7-9 and 22-26 and there is no delimiter for 22-26 since it is part of the column. The file may have more than 1000 character long.I managed to pull any one but not both
for example
test data
12345 zxc vbnmlk... (1 Reply)
Discussion started by: zooby
1 Replies
5. Shell Programming and Scripting
Hello Guys
I have a multiple character delimited flat file "|~|". when I tried to read the data the "|" character also coming
Example
I/P file
9882590|~|20111207|~|K03501000063005574033961|~|K|~|
Command to get the second column I used
awk -F"|~|" ' {print $2}' ... (2 Replies)
Discussion started by: Pratik4891
2 Replies
6. Shell Programming and Scripting
Hi,
Let say I have a file which has around 400 fields.
SampleFile
=========
PATIENTID|FACILITY|................|TIME_LAST_VISITED_BY_MD|.....|STATUS|
How is it possible to find out which field is TIME_LAST_VISITED_BY_MD?fro example by seeing the above structure we can saw FACILITY... (5 Replies)
Discussion started by: machomaddy
5 Replies
7. Linux
Greetings,
We have a requirement where we need to loop in a fixed width file in linux and remove a character based on a position for every record. It would highly appreciate if someone can help to automate this.
Appreciate your time and help!
Regards (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: mailme0205
3 Replies
8. Shell Programming and Scripting
Greetings.
I have a file with information like this:
AMNDHRKEOEU?AMNDHRKEOEU?AMNDHRKEOEU?AMNDHRKEOEU?
AMNDHRKEEU?AMNDHREOEU?
AMNDHREU?AHRKEOEU?AMNDHRKEU?AMNDKEOEU?
What I need to extract is the position, in every line, of every occurrence of '?'
A desired output would be something... (6 Replies)
Discussion started by: Twinklefingers
6 Replies
9. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers
Hi I have a text file that I want to change some of the characters based on their position. My file contain multiple lines and characters should be counted continuously line by line. For example, I want to convert the 150th T to C. What can I do? Here is a portion of my file:... (10 Replies)
Discussion started by: a_bahreini
10 Replies
10. Shell Programming and Scripting
I have a requirement where i need to split a file based on occurence of a character which is present at a fixed position. Description is as below:
1. The file will be more than 1 Lakh records.
2. Each line will be of fixed length of 987 characters.
3. At position 28 in each line either 'C' or... (9 Replies)
Discussion started by: Neelkanth
9 Replies
sort(3pm) Perl Programmers Reference Guide sort(3pm)
NAME
sort - perl pragma to control sort() behaviour
SYNOPSIS
use sort 'stable'; # guarantee stability
use sort '_quicksort'; # use a quicksort algorithm
use sort '_mergesort'; # use a mergesort algorithm
use sort 'defaults'; # revert to default behavior
no sort 'stable'; # stability not important
use sort '_qsort'; # alias for quicksort
my $current;
BEGIN {
$current = sort::current(); # identify prevailing algorithm
}
DESCRIPTION
With the "sort" pragma you can control the behaviour of the builtin "sort()" function.
In Perl versions 5.6 and earlier the quicksort algorithm was used to implement "sort()", but in Perl 5.8 a mergesort algorithm was also
made available, mainly to guarantee worst case O(N log N) behaviour: the worst case of quicksort is O(N**2). In Perl 5.8 and later,
quicksort defends against quadratic behaviour by shuffling large arrays before sorting.
A stable sort means that for records that compare equal, the original input ordering is preserved. Mergesort is stable, quicksort is not.
Stability will matter only if elements that compare equal can be distinguished in some other way. That means that simple numerical and
lexical sorts do not profit from stability, since equal elements are indistinguishable. However, with a comparison such as
{ substr($a, 0, 3) cmp substr($b, 0, 3) }
stability might matter because elements that compare equal on the first 3 characters may be distinguished based on subsequent characters.
In Perl 5.8 and later, quicksort can be stabilized, but doing so will add overhead, so it should only be done if it matters.
The best algorithm depends on many things. On average, mergesort does fewer comparisons than quicksort, so it may be better when
complicated comparison routines are used. Mergesort also takes advantage of pre-existing order, so it would be favored for using "sort()"
to merge several sorted arrays. On the other hand, quicksort is often faster for small arrays, and on arrays of a few distinct values,
repeated many times. You can force the choice of algorithm with this pragma, but this feels heavy-handed, so the subpragmas beginning with
a "_" may not persist beyond Perl 5.8. The default algorithm is mergesort, which will be stable even if you do not explicitly demand it.
But the stability of the default sort is a side-effect that could change in later versions. If stability is important, be sure to say so
with a
use sort 'stable';
The "no sort" pragma doesn't forbid what follows, it just leaves the choice open. Thus, after
no sort qw(_mergesort stable);
a mergesort, which happens to be stable, will be employed anyway. Note that
no sort "_quicksort";
no sort "_mergesort";
have exactly the same effect, leaving the choice of sort algorithm open.
CAVEATS
As of Perl 5.10, this pragma is lexically scoped and takes effect at compile time. In earlier versions its effect was global and took
effect at run-time; the documentation suggested using "eval()" to change the behaviour:
{ eval 'use sort qw(defaults _quicksort)'; # force quicksort
eval 'no sort "stable"'; # stability not wanted
print sort::current . "
";
@a = sort @b;
eval 'use sort "defaults"'; # clean up, for others
}
{ eval 'use sort qw(defaults stable)'; # force stability
print sort::current . "
";
@c = sort @d;
eval 'use sort "defaults"'; # clean up, for others
}
Such code no longer has the desired effect, for two reasons. Firstly, the use of "eval()" means that the sorting algorithm is not changed
until runtime, by which time it's too late to have any effect. Secondly, "sort::current" is also called at run-time, when in fact the
compile-time value of "sort::current" is the one that matters.
So now this code would be written:
{ use sort qw(defaults _quicksort); # force quicksort
no sort "stable"; # stability not wanted
my $current;
BEGIN { $current = sort::current; }
print "$current
";
@a = sort @b;
# Pragmas go out of scope at the end of the block
}
{ use sort qw(defaults stable); # force stability
my $current;
BEGIN { $current = sort::current; }
print "$current
";
@c = sort @d;
}
perl v5.18.2 2013-11-04 sort(3pm)