Ubuntu Manpage: sort-dctrl - sort Debian control files

NAME

       sort-dctrl - sort Debian control files

SYNOPSIS

       sort-dctrl [options] [ file ...  ]

       sort-dctrl --copying | --help | --version | -ChV

DESCRIPTION

The sort-dctrl program sorts Debian control files according to specified criteria.

A Debian control (dctrl) file is a semistructured single-table database stored in a machine-parseable
text file. Such a database consists of a set of records; each record is a mapping from field names to
field content. Textually, records are separated by empty lines, while each field is encoded as one or
more nonempty lines inside a record. A field starts with its name, followed by a colon, followed by the
field content. The colon must reside on the first line of the field, and the first line must start with
no whitespace. Subsequent lines, in contrast, always start with linear whitespace (one or more space or
tab characters).

The sort-dctrl program recognizes two field types: string fields and version fields. Version fields act
also as numeric fields. String fields are compared according to strict lexicographical octet-by-octet
comparison, after ignoring any initial whitespace after the colon. Version fields are parsed and
compared as Debian version numbers. When comparing version numbers, if a field content does not in fact
conform to the version number syntax, it compares less than any field content that does conform, and
equal to any other nonconforming field content. The sort-dctrl program assumes all fields are string
fields unless told otherwise.

You can specify arbitrary number of keys for sorting, using the -k option. The keys are interpreted in a
descending order of priority: the first key specified is primary, the second key specified is secondary,
and so on. If two records compare equal under the primary key, then they are compared under the
secondary key, and so on. If no keys are specified, a default key is assumed (the "Package" field with
no modifiers).

OPTIONS

-k keyspec, --key-spec=keyspec
Specify one or more keys for sorting. You may specify this option any number of times. The
keyspec argument consists of a comma-separated list of key specifications. Each key specification
consists of the name of the field that serves as the key, optionally followed by a colon and key
modifiers. The following key modifiers are supported:

r Invert the comparison for this key, reversing the sorting order.

v Treat this field as a version number field.

n Treat this field as numeric, which currently is synonymous with v.

-q, --quiet, --silent
Output nothing to the standard output stream. Instead, exit immediately after finding the first
match.

-l level, --errorlevel=level
Set log level to level. level is one of fatal, important, informational and debug, but the last
may not be available, depending on the compile-time options. These categories are given here in
order; every message that is emitted when fatal is in effect, will be emitted in the important
error level, and so on. The default is important.

-V, --version
Print out version information.

-C, --copying
Print out the copyright license. This produces much output; be sure to redirect or pipe it
somewhere (such as your favourite pager).

-h, --help
Print out a help summary.

EXAMPLES

       Here are some sample invocations of the program:

       sort-dctrl /var/lib/dpkg/available
              Output the dpkg available file sorted by the package name.

       sort-dctrl -k Version:v /var/lib/dpkg/available
              Output the dpkg available file sorted in ascending order of version numbers.

       sort-dctrl -k Version:vr /var/lib/dpkg/available
              Output the dpkg available file sorted in descending order of version numbers.

       sort-dctrl -k Package,Version:v /var/lib/dpkg/available
              Output  the  dpkg  available  file  sorted  primarily  in  ascending  order  of  package names and
              secondarily in descending order of version numbers.

       sort-dctrl -k Installed-Size:n,Size:nr /var/lib/dpkg/available
              Output the dpkg available file sorted primarily in  ascending  order  of  installation  sizes  and
              secondarily in descending order of package sizes.

AUTHOR