HPlogo SORT-MERGE/XL General User's Guide > Chapter 3 Using SORT/XL Interactively

Single Key Alphabetical Sorting

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A basic sorting operation can arrange, or order, data in an ascending alphabetical sequence, using a single key data item. The following example shows the commands you use to direct SORT/XL to order the last names in the file EMPLOYEE into a standard alphabetical order. Following the SORT/XL commands, you will see the steps for entering the EDIT/V subsystem to display the results of the sort process. As mentioned above, the output file containing the sorted data is named COMPANY. 

  :SORT

  HP32214A.01.00  SORT/3000 WED, JUN  3, 1987,  8:20 AM
  (C) HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. 1986

  >INPUT EMPLOYEE
  >OUTPUT COMPANY
  >KEY 1, 11
  >END

     <<The SORT Statistics Appear Here>>

  :EDITOR

  HP32201A.07.17 EDIT/3000 WED, JUN  3, 1987,  8:21 AM
  (C) HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. 1985
  /TEXT COMPANY
  FILE UNNUMBERED
  / LIST ALL
                    1         2         3         4
           1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789

    1      ANDERSON   MARY       ACCOUNTANT         6345
    2      ANDERSON   CHARLES    SALES REP          3456
    3      ANDERSON   CHARLES    PRESIDENT          0247
    4      CARLSON    ROBERTA    TREASURER          3586
    5      FISHER     TOM        SHIPPING CLERK     7309
    6      JOHNSON    FRANCES    RECEPTIONIST       7943
    7      LANGE      ROBERT     ENGINEER           3235
    8      SMITH      HOWARD     DESIGNER           6794
    9      TAYLOR     HEATHER    SECRETARY          7272
   10      ZIMMER     ANDREW     ENGINEER           5739
  /E

  END OF SUBSYSTEM
  :
The SORT/XL program has listed the employee's last names alphabetically. Thereare three ANDERSON entries. Notice they are not alphabetized according to their first names. If there is a tie in a single key sort, as in this case, he names are listed in the order in which they appeared in the input file (see where these three names were listed in the file EMPLOYEE shown earlier in this chapter). Refer to the section on "Multiple Key Alphabetical Sort" below for information on breaking ties while running the SORT/XL subsystem.



Exiting SORT/XL

SORT/XL Statistics Report