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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!gatech!ut-sally!seismo!elsie!ado
From: ado@elsie.UUCP (Arthur David Olson)
Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd
Subject: 4.?bsd "sort -n" says -0 == 0 (with documentation fix)
Message-ID: <5309@elsie.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Dec-85 13:06:41 EST
Article-I.D.: elsie.5309
Posted: Mon Dec  9 13:06:41 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Dec-85 03:45:38 EST
Organization: NIH-LEC, Bethesda, MD
Lines: 55
Keywords: sort bsd

Index:		man/man1/sort.1 Fix

Description:
	When sorting numbers, 'sort' takes "-0" to be equal to "0".

Repeat-By:
	Run these commands through sh:

awk 'BEGIN { for (f = -3.1; f <= 3.1; f += 0.5) printf "%3.0f\n", f; exit }' > a
sort -n < a > b
pr -m -t -l1 -w20 a b

	and note the output:
		 -3	   -3
		 -3	   -3
		 -2	   -2
		 -2	   -2
		 -1	   -1
		 -1	   -1
		 -0	    0
		  0	   -0
		  1	    1
		  1	    1
		  2	    2
		  2	    2
		  3	    3

	where the lines with "-0" and "0" have been swapped because they
	were sorted alphabetically (since their numerical values were taken
	to be equal).

Fix:
	Add the material between the ".NU" and the ".." directives below to
	"man/man1/sort.1"  As usual, the trade-secret status of the material
	involved precludes a clearer posting.

		An initial numeric string,
		consisting of optional blanks, optional minus sign,
		and zero or more digits with optional decimal point,
		is sorted by arithmetic value.
		.NU
		(Note that
		.B \-0
		is taken to be equal to
		.BR 0 .)
		..
		Option
		.B n
		implies option
		.B b.
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