PDP-11 SORT/MERGE

This document is the "PDP-11 SORT/MERGE User's Guide," dated August 1990, providing comprehensive instructions for using the SORT/MERGE Utility on PDP-11 operating systems such as RSTS/E, RSX-11M, RSX-11M-PLUS, and MicroRSX.

The guide explains how to use SORT to reorder data and MERGE to combine up to 10 RMS-11 formatted files into a single output file. It covers basic command syntax for both DCL and MCR, detailing how to specify key fields (position, size, data type, sort order), manage multiple input files, and choose collating sequences (ASCII, EBDIC, Multinational).

For advanced control, the manual describes creating and using specification files, which enable record reformatting, conditional inclusion/omission of records, user-defined collating sequences, and reassignment of work files. It also provides guidance on integrating SORT/MERGE subroutines into programs written in languages like BASIC, COBOL, and FORTRAN, explaining file, record, and mixed-mode interfaces, parameter passing, and task building with Overlay Descriptor Language (ODL) files. Finally, the guide offers insights into optimizing SORT/MERGE performance by adjusting work file allocation, input/output file sizes, and selecting appropriate sort processes, and includes appendices for error messages and sample programs.