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From: avolio@grendel.UUCP (Frederick M. Avolio)
Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: sort problems
Message-ID: <418@grendel.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 20-Jan-85 19:40:24 EST
Article-I.D.: grendel.418
Posted: Sun Jan 20 19:40:24 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 22-Jan-85 06:23:57 EST
References: <2040@pegasus.UUCP>
Organization: DEC ULTRIX Applications Center, MD
Lines: 24
Xref: watmath net.unix:3403 net.unix-wizards:11654

> Okay you sort experts why do these two sorts not work ?
> sort << !
>  Abe
> Aba
> !
> 
> sort << !
> Abe
> $Aba
> !
> 

Well, they do work. " Abe" *is* less than "Aba".  Blank is 040  and  A
is 0101.

In the second example the shell is reading the input and passing it to
sort.  $Aba  is interpreted as a shell variable, which probably had no
value.  Hence, the line is blank. (In fact, the C shell tosses it  out
immediately as undefined.  The Bournse shell doesn't care.)
-- 
Fred Avolio
301/731-4100 x4227
UUCP:  {seismo,decvax}!grendel!avolio
ARPA:  grendel!avolio@seismo.ARPA