Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re:  sort question
Message-ID: <1569@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 5 May 89 22:26:21 GMT
References: <19449@adm.BRL.MIL>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 10

>Try: sort +10 -11 +2 -3 filename
>
>This tells sort to sort first on a field starting in col. 10 and ending just
>before col. 11,

No, it doesn't, at least not if you're talking about the standard UNIX
versions of "sort".  It tells "sort" to sort first on the 10th *field*
(that is, the 11th field on the line - after all, it's written in C
:-)).  Fields are normally separated by white space; with the "-t" flag,
they're separated by tab columns.