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How to get sort command working with data separated by "|" (pipe character) ?

Consider this sample file called "x" which have two fields:

axis-AXIS|OK
axis-AXISR|OK
axis-AXISD2X|OK
axis-AXISA|OK
axis-AXISD1|OK
axis-AXIS1RX|OK
axis-AXISR1M|OK
axis-AXISD2|FALSE
axis-AXISMD|FALSE
axis-AXISM|FALSE
axis-AXISE|OK
axis-AXISD|OK

My locale: 

echo $LC_ALL
C

When it is sorted the character "|" seems to be part of the key producing a strange assortment:

sort -t"|" x

axis-AXIS1RX|OK
axis-AXISA|OK
axis-AXISD1|OK
axis-AXISD2X|OK
axis-AXISD2|FALSE
axis-AXISD|OK
axis-AXISE|OK
axis-AXISMD|FALSE
axis-AXISM|FALSE
axis-AXISR1M|OK
axis-AXISR|OK
axis-AXIS|OK

Specifying a field key sort -t"|" -k1 x nothing changes.

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2
  • Am I going blind?  You say, "Specifying a field key, the assortment changes ...", but I don't see any difference in the output.  … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …  P.S. I believe that you mean echo "$LC_ALL", not echo `$LC_ALL`.
    – G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
    Sep 2, 2015 at 22:07
  • Copy&Paste on typing mistake I'll fix it.
    – Luciano
    Sep 2, 2015 at 22:16

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

Without the closing field number with -k, it will consider all fields starting from 1. You need :

sort -k1,1 -t'|' file.txt

Test :

$ sort -k1,1 -t'|' file.txt 
axis-AXIS|OK
axis-AXIS1RX|OK
axis-AXISA|OK
axis-AXISD|OK
axis-AXISD1|OK
axis-AXISD2|FALSE
axis-AXISD2X|OK
axis-AXISE|OK
axis-AXISM|FALSE
axis-AXISMD|FALSE
axis-AXISR|OK
axis-AXISR1M|OK

If your locale is not C, you can set it on the fly :

LC_ALL=C sort -k1,1 -t'|' file.txt
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