How can i reorder a file by ascending order (column)?

Question

I would like to reorder a whole file by ascending time order.

file.txt looks like this:

a 12.24 text

a 1.45 text

b 5.12 text

I would like it to look like this:

a 1.45 text

b 5.12 text

a 12.24 text

Answer 1

The sort command may fit your needs better than awk.

# sort -gk 2 test.txt 
a 1.45 text
b 5.12 text
a 12.24 text

-g compares them as numbers instead of strings. And -k 2 sorts on the second column.

Answer 2

Use the sort linux programme, not awk. Precisely:

sort -n -k 2 <filename>