Lesson plan

Microsoft Sort

Microsoft Sort is a software utility developed by the Microsoft Corporation in 1982 83. It was sold in two versions as a standalone utility and as a version hosted in Microsoft COBOL. The 95 page ring-bound manual describes the function of the software as follows: "Microsoft Standalone SORT is a programmable sorting and merging utility. It accepts data files and arranges the records contained in these files in the order you assign. You may specify sequence keys, which are specific data field(s) within each record, for comparison of records. Also, you may specify a selection procedure." The software came on a single 5¼" floppy diskette. The software and manual came packaged in a hinged Perspex box, which Microsoft described as "EaselBox". It was designed to double up as a book stand for the reference manual. At the time of sale, Microsoft Sort was one of 32 products available from the company including productivity software, educational software, recreational software, hardware and programming languages.

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Article summary

Microsoft Sort is a software utility developed by the Microsoft Corporation in 1982 83. It was sold in two versions as a standalone utility and as a version hosted in Microsoft COBOL. The 95 page ring-bound manual describes the function of the software as follows: "Microsoft Standalone SORT is a programmable sorting and merging utility. It accepts data files and arranges the records contained in these files in the order you assign. You may specify sequence keys, which are specific data field(s) within each record, for comparison of records. Also, you may specify a selection procedure." The software came on a single 5¼" floppy diskette. The software and manual came packaged in a hinged Perspex box, which Microsoft described as "EaselBox". It was designed to double up as a book stand for the reference manual. At the time of sale, Microsoft Sort was one of 32 products available from the company including productivity software, educational software, recreational software, hardware and programming languages.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.