COBOL Manual for TNS/E Programs (H06.08+, J06.03+)

sd-name
is the file name given in a sort-merge file description (SD) entry.
key-specifier
specifies one or more of the items described in the record descriptions of sd-name.
key
is used to sort the records in ascending or descending order. The first key is compared
first, the second next, and so on. Two records equal in all sort keys are sorted by their
original order in the file.
DUPLICATES phrase
specifies that, if two or more records contain equal values for all sort keys, their final order
within the sort file is the order in which they were released to the sort file. If this phrase is
omitted, the order of such duplicate records is arbitrary.
COLLATING SEQUENCE phrase
specifies a collating sequence for sorting. The alphabet-name must be associated with a sorting
sequence in the SPECIAL-NAMES paragraph of the Environment Division (see SPECIAL-NAMES
Paragraph (page 105)).
442 Procedure Division Verbs