The OpenVMS Sort/Merge utility sorts records or merges input
    files. To sort one or more input files, specify the SORT command.
    These files are sorted according to the fields you select and
    one reordered output file is generated. To merge input files that
    have previously been sorted according to the same key fields,
    specify the MERGE command. One output file is generated.

    High-Performance SORT/MERGE Utility:

       On Alpha and I64 systems, you can choose the high-performance
       Sort/Merge utility. It uses the same command line interface.
       Any differences are noted with the appropriate SORT and
       MERGE qualifiers. Use the SORTSHR logical to select the high-
       performance Sort/Merge utility. Define SORTSHR to point to the
       high-performance sort executable in SYS$LIBRARY as follows:

       $ DEFINE SORTSHR SYS$LIBRARY:HYPERSORT.EXE

       To return to SORT/MERGE, deassign SORTSHR. (The SORT/MERGE
       utility is the default if SORTSHR is not defined.)

    For additional information, you can enter one of the following
    topics:

    Command_Qualifiers      Provides a brief description of the
                            qualifiers that can be used with the
                            SORT and MERGE commands.
    Input_File_Qualifier    Provides information about qualifiers
                            that can be used to modify input files
                            (such as /FORMAT).
    Output_File_Qualifiers  Provides information about qualifiers
                            that can be used to modify output files
                            (such as /SEQUENTIAL).

    For a complete information about the Sort/Merge Utility, see the
    OpenVMS Utility Routines Manual and the OpenVMS User's Manual.

    Formats

      SORT  input-file-spec [,...] output-file

      MERGE  input-file-spec [,...] output-file