[R] Responses to question about order()

[Raja Surapanani]

Thanks to all for your responses regarding my question of why order() was 
behaving differently for me on my linux and solaris platforms. It seems that 
order() behaves according to the collating sequence and character set that 
the particular platform assumes.  I mistakingly assumed that the function 
would behave the same regardless of the platform. I have briefly summarized 
the responses I received. 

Don MacQueen suggested that I try creating a text file outside of R with each 
of the characters on a separate line to see if the different operating 
systems' sort command on the file produced different results. 

James Holtman and Uwe Ligges both pointed to the fact that the character set 
and collating sequence could be different on each platform, which would 
affect the functionality of order(). 

Richard A. O'Keefe suggested that I check the settings of each environment by 
lookign at the variables LC_COLLATE and/or LANG. He also suggested a C 
program for me to run to check for plausible answers. 

-Raja