Linux / UNIX Shell: Sort Date

To sort dates in a Linux or Unix shell, you can use the sort command with the -k option and a field specification to specify which field to sort on.

For example, to sort a list of dates in the YYYY-MM-DD format, you can use the following command:

sort -k1,4n -k2n -k3n

This will sort the dates in ascending order, with the oldest dates appearing first.

The -k1,4n option tells sort to sort the first field (the year) numerically. The -k2n option tells sort to sort the second field (the month) numerically. The -k3n option tells sort to sort the third field (the day) numerically.

You can also use the -r option to sort the dates in descending order, with the newest dates appearing first. For example:

sort -r -k1,4n -k2n -k3n

If you want to sort dates in a different format, such as DD/MM/YYYY, you can use a different field specification. For example:

sort -k3n -k2n -k1,4n

This will sort the dates in ascending order, with the oldest dates appearing first.

Keep in mind that the sort command only works with plain text files. If you want to sort dates in other types of files, such as CSV or Excel files, you will need to use a different tool or script.