Scripting

Ziggy2017 · 02-02-2017, 01:51 PM

I'm new to scripting and was asked a question that wants me to sort the text to put all lines containing the same word on adjacent lines. I ran the man sort command, but didn't understand the results

suicidaleggroll · 02-02-2017, 02:01 PM

If your input file is "inputfile", you would run "sort inputfile". That will print the sorted results to the screen. If you want to dump the sorted results to a file, you would run "sort inputfile > outputfile". Use the flags described in "man sort" to control how sort does the sorting (reverse, numeric, sort by column, etc).

TB0ne · 02-02-2017, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggy2017

I'm new to scripting and was asked a question that wants me to sort the text to put all lines containing the same word on adjacent lines. I ran the man sort command, but didn't understand the results

Not sure what you're asking...you know the command, and the man page tells you each option and how to use it.

Read the "Question Guidelines" link in my posting signature. We're happy to help, but show us what you've done/tried on your own, and tell us what you're confused about. We can't explain the man page to you.

szboardstretcher · 02-02-2017, 02:18 PM

Assuming a file called 'input' contains this:

Code:

orange
apple
grape
orange
grape
grape
apple

Run sort on the file and output to a file called 'output' like this:

Code:

sort input -o output

Gives a sorted list like this:

Code:

cat output
apple
apple
grape
grape
grape
orange
orange

Is there something that is confusing about the output or the process?

kakistocrat · 02-02-2017, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggy2017

I ran the man sort command, but didn't understand the results

There are a lot of advanced options there. Can you post some data and what you want to do with it?

You can sort different columns independently. Take the following data:

Code:

cat <<EOF > data
141.251.0.0/16
141.25.0.0/16
51.116.0.0/16
191.234.4.0/24
157.58.90.0/24
104.40.0.0/13
EOF

You can sort it as IPv4 addresses numerically by using a dot (.) as the field separator. Then each field can be sorted numerically:

Code:

sort -t. -k1,1n -k2,2n -k3,3n -k4,4n data

It's not so clear from the manual page, but it's reference material not a guide or tutorial. But keep checking the manual page. Pieces will make sense over time.

Ziggy2017 · 02-02-2017, 02:22 PM

What's confusing is the statement; put all lines containing the same word on adjacent lines

hydrurga · 02-02-2017, 02:30 PM

Googling for "put all lines containing the same word on adjacent lines" throws up some interesting homework-related results, including the following which contains a hint for the operation in question:

https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/...s-st-q16692997

Ziggy2017 · 02-02-2017, 02:40 PM

chegg wants money. Won't pay. I'll find the answer some other way

hydrurga · 02-02-2017, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggy2017

chegg wants money. Won't pay. I'll find the answer some other way

I didn't expect you to pay. I expected you to have a look at the hint in the question and see if it made any sense to you.

szboardstretcher · 02-02-2017, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Put all lines containing the same word on adjacent lines

This line is a line
Adjacent means 'next to'
Words that are the same, are the same
The definition of 'sort' is to systematically arrange in groups by sameness

So, if your lines contain words, and you sort those lines by word, then lines with words that are the same will end up 'grouped' together on adjacent lines.

Unsorted:

apple
orange
grape
apple

Sorted:

apple
apple
grape
orange

You'll notice that when sorting alphabetically, the lines with 'apple' will be adjacent to one another.

rtmistler · 02-02-2017, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggy2017

chegg wants money. Won't pay. I'll find the answer some other way

Please read the recommended links from TB0ne or others who have cited advice. Rude comebacks only go so far, but it shows that you're well aware of the capability to search for solutions versus asking for handouts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TB0ne

Not sure what you're asking...you know the command, and the man page tells you each option and how to use it.

Read the "Question Guidelines" link in my posting signature. We're happy to help, but show us what you've done/tried on your own, and tell us what you're confused about. We can't explain the man page to you.

Ziggy2017 · 02-02-2017, 03:00 PM

OK, I'll look at the hint when I get home from work tonight. Thanks

hydrurga · 02-02-2017, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggy2017

OK, I'll look at the hint when I get home from work tonight. Thanks

Great. Bear in mind however that it's wrong (the solution is actually simpler than the hint suggests), but it *is* along the right lines and puts the question you asked into context. Pay particular attention to szboardstretcher's post. The solution is in fact quite simple.