Thanks Brian for a quick response. Infact I do sort the file prior to processing it. But I use the following: sort -t"~" -k1,1 file1 -o file1 And I get the output mentioned below since 5 comes before 55. I'm purposely not using Numeric sort as I'm writing a generic script and my primary fields can be non-numeric fields as well. Looks like I will have to settle for a normal sort rather than key based sort for this to work. Thanks, Anand
________________________________ From: Brian Dessent [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thu 25/05/2006 11:51 PM To: Anand Ramamoorthy Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: comm command bug while using with Tilda delimited files Anand Ramamoorthy wrote: > This is the first time I'm having issues with "comm" command on an HP-UX Unix > box (Model: 9000/800, Release: B11.11) > > I'm trying to compare two files that are "~" delimited. > > File 1 > -------- > 1~10 > 5~30 > 55~40 > 6~20 > > > File 2 > -------- > 1~20 > 5~35 > 55~40 > 7~27 'comm' requires that the input files be sorted. These are not sorted, because "~" comes after "5" in the ascii order. You can test this for yourself with something like: $ echo -e "5~30\n55~40" | sort 55~40 5~30 It works when you use "," because that character comes before the digits in the ascii order. Run your input files through 'sort' before passing them to 'comm'. Brian IMPORTANT 1. This email and any attachments are confidential. Any unauthorised dissemination or other use of these materials is prohibited. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. 2. Before opening or using attachments, check them for viruses and defects. Our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. 3. Protecting your privacy is important to us. Our privacy statement and further information is available at www.oakton.com.au. _______________________________________________ Bug-coreutils mailing list [email protected] http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/bug-coreutils
