"P.V.Anthony" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> posted
[EMAIL PROTECTED], excerpted below, on  Sat, 11 Oct 2008
03:41:43 +0800:

> Hi,
> 
> I am having a problem doing a simple sort. The sorting just does not
> work with the command sort.
> 
> In a directory are the following files,
> 
> access.log.0
> access.log.1
> access.log.10
> access.log.11
> access.log.12
> access.log.13
> access.log.14
> access.log.15
> access.log.16
> access.log.17
> access.log.18
> access.log.19
> access.log.2
> access.log.20
> access.log.21
> access.log.3
> access.log.4
> access.log.5
> access.log.6
> access.log.7
> access.log.8
> access.log.9
> 
> Did the following command,
> 
> #ls access.log.* | sort -n +0.11
> 
> Got the following error,
> #sort: open failed: +0.11: No such file or directory
> 
> What am I doing wrong?
> 
> Tried puting the list of files into a file called "testing" then did the
> following command,
> #sort -n +0.11 testing
> 
> Still same error,
> #sort: open failed: +0.11: No such file or directory
> 
> How to correct this?

You're using an obsolete (and ambiguous) syntax.  I discovered this by 
first reading the manpage, which didn't mention that syntax (but did 
mention the -k option, the newer syntax), but /did/ mention that for 
complete documentation refer to the info page coreutils "sort 
invocation", which I did.  That confirmed what I has already suspected, 
that you were using an obsolete syntax, with an explanation of why it's 
obsolete (it's ambiguous, the other reading being how it interprets it 
now, as a filename) and instructions for getting the old behavior if 
still desired, tho it's now discouraged.

So either check the manpage and use -k and an origin-1 sort key instead, 
or follow thru to the info page and read up on how to get it to interpret 
the obsolete origin-0 sort key you are trying to feed it.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman


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