enhancement suggestions for "sort" and text editor

[john]

Gentlemen;


In the course of trying to emulate some simple data processing functions 
of the early mainframe era, I was surprised they weren't readily 
supported by current standard tools.

In particular I wish to enter text into predefined (fixed location) 
fields in a record as opposed to variably delimited fields.  In other 
words emulate the punched card record where card columns are assigned to 
particular data character columns.  Those card columns then just become 
a text column range of a single record.  If I could just set perhaps 10 
arbitrary tab stops (in any simple editor), it would be sufficient for 
this purpose.  The tab key would just advance to the next stop in 
succession, tho not necessarily regularly spaced.  In the simplest 
sense, a command line switch could just accept a list of tab columns in 
ascending order.  The end of a field need not be defined, too much text 
would just spill into consecutive columns.  The expansion of the tab 
into spaces would be necessary as there is no assurance subsequently 
used utilities could synchronize those stops.

The companion problem was using "sort" to accept keys based upon fixed 
character columns vs delimited fields.  I would like to sort keys in 
specific columns without regard to potentially missing fields.  There 
appears to be character positioning of keys, but relative to a delimited 
key field.  Perhaps a notation like a field "0" with a character 
position could refer to just absolute character positions e.g. "-k0.5, 
0.9" indicating a key of character columns 5 thru 9, regardless of what 
may or may not reside on characters 1-4.

I believe such enhancements could increase the generality of these 
utilities without bloating them with seldom needed capability.  I am not 
a programmer of the modern era and find it disappointing that special 
code appears to be needed for what used to be basic.


Regards,

John Kotrba