Run soft command on multiple columns

mschlict · 10-12-2014, 10:42 AM

I have been searching for hours and have not found an answer that works for me. I have a three column file that I want to sort each column separately. My code right now is:

sort -t $'\t' -k1,1n -k2,2n -k3,3n stuff > stuff.sort

I have tried with and without the K commands and no difference. I am trying to sort the following:

red beer owl
green vodka cat
blue whisky emu

Is this even possible to sort each column independently?

Thank you

jpollard · 10-12-2014, 12:00 PM

no.

Sort orders entire records from primary key to secondary to ...

If you want each column sorted independently of each other, you have to separate them into different files, then sort each and put the results back together.