How to sort two files then diff them?

zoubidoo · 01-23-2009, 04:16 AM

I'd like to sort two files then do a diff. It's easy to:

Code:

$ sort file1 > file1_sorted
$ sort file2 > file2_sorted
$ diff file1_sorted file2_sorted

but can it be done without storing the intermediate files?

The best I have managed is storing only one file:

Code:

$ sort file2 > file2_sorted
$ sort file1 | diff - file2_sorted

Is it possible to store no intermediates?

Cheers,
Zoubidoo

colucix · 01-23-2009, 04:30 AM

In bash you can try process substitution:

Code:

diff <(sort file1) <(sort file2)

zoubidoo · 01-23-2009, 04:42 AM

Perfect! Thank you colucix.