Honestly, I don't recall ever coming across a GUI editor that actually *does* offer a checkbox for "delete duplicate lines while you're sorting them (ideally in a true numeric sort rather than ASCII)." This seems to suggest that this problem doesn't come up so often that most users are clamoring for this, probably because -- well -- people who actually need a function that can be easily created by combining two existing functions in an application that makes it very easy to automate that combination are just going to automate that combination.

BBEdit makes it easier than most other editors do, given that you've come up with two functions that are so simple they can be recorded as a script macro: click "Script > Start Recording", "Text > Sort Lines", "Text > Process Duplicate Lines", "Script > Stop Recording", and bam, you're done. Use the Script palette to assign that to a key (or just leave the Script palette window open).

Dave Yost <mailto:[email protected]>
February 27, 2012 21:22
1. The Process Duplicate Lines feature is not a checkbox in the Sort
Lines panel, nor is a text factory a checkbox. A text factory is just
a fancy and easier-to-use form of scripting and is 100 times harder to
use than a checkbox — not appropriate for this simple, oft-used
feature of sorting.

2. OK, feature 2 is there; I can't read ;-) But it would be better
worded as "Numbers sort by value".

My question stands on point 1.

Patrick Woolsey <mailto:[email protected]>
February 27, 2012 13:23
Dave Yost <[email protected]> sez:
[...]


I'm sorry but the above is incomplete on both points as well as the conclusion:

1. BBEdit provides the Process Duplicate Lines command, which one may
chain with Sort Lines--or any other text processing action(s)--via
a text factory (no scripting).

2. The "Numbers match by value" option in the Sort Lines sheet controls
whether numbers sort as strings or by value.


Regards,

Patrick Woolsey
==
Bare Bones Software, Inc. <http://www.barebones.com>
P.O. Box 1048, Bedford, MA 01730-1048

Dave Yost <mailto:[email protected]>
February 27, 2012 12:14
Does anyone else agree that these features belong in the Sort UI of a
text editor that doesn't suck? ;-)

1. It is a common occurrence that when sorting, one needs to remove
duplicates. The unix sort command has had a –u option to do this for
at least 35 years.

2. It is a common occurrence that when sorting, one wants numbers
(wherever they appear in the text) to sort in numeric order (a.k.a.
"natural order"). The sort command in Linux has this feature, calling
it "--version-sort". With this feature, and without any special sort
field specifications, sorting produces
x8a
x9a
x10a
instead of
x10a
x8a
x9a
as it does now.

BBEdit does not have these features, and BB refuses to implement them!
They brush off these suggestions saying that if anyone needs these
features when sorting, they should write a script.


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