#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

use Text::CSV_XS;
my $csv = Text::CSV_XS->new();

my $file = '';
if (defined $ARGV[0]) {
    $file = $ARGV[0];
}

open(my $data, '<', $file) or die "Could not open '$file'\n";
while (my $line = <$data>) {
    if ($csv->parse($line)) {
        my @columns = $csv->fields();

        ## set vars
        my $orderNumber = $columns[0];
        my $name = $columns[1];
        my $itemId = $columns[2];
        my $itemDesc = $columns[3];
        my $price = $columns[4];

        open (OUTFILE, "> output/$orderNumber.xml") or die $! . " can'
+t open the file\n";
#print OUTFILE <<XML;
            print OUTFILE "<order>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "  <order_id>$orderNumber</order_id>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "  <name>$name</name>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "  <item>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "    <item_id>$itemId</item_id>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "    <item_desc>$itemDesc</item_desc>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "    <price>$price</price>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "  </item>\n";
            print OUTFILE  "</order>\n";

#XML
    close (OUTFILE);
    } 
    else {
        warn "Line could not be parsed:\n";
    }
}
[download]

Showing your code was definitely a good move. Now I have a better idea of why you are finding how to use sort so confusing.

To "sort and group" you'll need three passes through the file lines: one to read in the lines, one to sort, and one to print. You'll also need to store the data from the "reading in" phase in an an array of array references.

I've included some code demonstrating the algorithm. You'll have to make adaptions to fit your situation, but it should at least show you how to use the sort-n-group algorithm. I don't have the CVS module you are using so I've done a simple chomp and split to emulate it. You'll want to substitute that part with your code to read in CVS. I've also read in sample lines from <DATA> and printed to STDOUT for convenience. It also should make it easy to just download the code and see if it does indeed do what you want.

Read more... (3 kB)

Best, beth

The "sort and group" principle shown in other nodes is sound, but it makes most sense when you're only looking at arrays.

Here's an implementation that uses both arrays and hashes, to make an internal perl representation of the data that corresponds more closely (compared to a just arrays) to what you need to output. The output loop therefore becomes a bit simpler.

Read more... (4 kB)

--
use JAPH;
print JAPH::asString();