SORT-MERGE/XL General User's Guide (32650-90883)

Chapter 3 33
Using SORT/XL Interactively
SORT/XL Statistics Report
The SORT/XL program has listed the employee's last names alphabetically. There are
three ANDERSON entries. Notice they are not alphabetized according to their first names. If
there is a tie in a single key sort, as in this case, he names are listed in the order in which
they appeared in the input file (see where these three names were listed in the file
EMPLOYEE shown earlier in this chapter). Refer to the section on "Multiple Key
Alphabetical Sort" below for information on breaking ties while running the SORT/XL
subsystem.
SORT/XL Statistics Report
SORT/XL generates a statistical report summarizing the sort operation. This statistical
report is generated and displayed each time you enter the >END command. Values for a sort
operation on the file EMPLOYEE might be:
STATISTICS
NUMBER OF RECORDS = 10
NUMBER OF INTERMEDIATE PASSES = 0
SPACE AVAILABLE (IN WORDS) = 11,090
NUMBER OF COMPARES = 34
NUMBER OF SCRATCHFILE IO'S = 8
CPU TIME (MINUTES) = .00
SCRATCH FILE SIZE (#SECTORS) = 11
ELAPSED TIME (MINUTES) = .01
:
The statistics generated by this report are used mostly by System Managers and
Programmers. Although this information may not apply to you, it is mentioned here since
it appears on your terminal screen each time you enter the >END command to start a sort
operation. Refer to the SORT-MERGE/XL Programmer's Guide for additional information
on SORT/XL statistics.