How does sort command work internally in Linux?

The sort command in Linux is a utility that helps in ordering the lines of text files or input data. It reads input from files, piped input, or standard input, and organizes the data in a specified order (ascending or descending). Internally, the command typically uses efficient sorting algorithms like merge sort or quicksort to ensure speed and performance.

Common features of the sort command include:

• Sorting based on alphabetical order, numerical order, or by specific fields.
• Handling of duplicate lines, unique sorting options, and case sensitivity.
• Providing various flags to customize the sorting behavior.

Here’s an example of how the sort command can be used:

This command sorts the content of file.txt in reverse numerical order.