UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi,

Let's say I have these 3 columns;

Code:

NGC1234  6  9
SL899      4  1
NGC1075   8  3
SL709      5  2

And I want to sort the data according to the first column (from a to z) like having them as:

Code:

NGC1075   8  3
NGC1234  6  9
SL709      5  2
SL899      4  1

Can that be done using AWK?

Using awk, I don't know, but you can use sort instead
I created a file named test1 for this example:

Code:

$ cat test1
NGC1234 6 9
SL899 4 1
NGC1075 8 3
SL709 5 2
$ sort test1
NGC1075 8 3
NGC1234 6 9
SL709 5 2
SL899 4 1
$

You can also use sort after a pipe:

Code:

$ awk '{print}' test1 | sort
$ cat test1 | sort

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