This variable specifies the number of 64 KB blocks of memory that the SORT
verb tries to allocate when it executes. For users of the standard MS-DOS
runtime, the range is from 1 to 4. For all other runtimes, including MS-DOS 386, the
range is from 1 to 16. The default value is "4" in all cases. Using a value
lower than the default can be useful if memory is tight on the host machine.
Using a higher value may enhance SORT performance.
Take care, when increasing the SORT_MEMORY setting, to ensure that you do not assign too much memory to the
runtime. For most operating systems, the memory used by SORT is not returned to the
system. While the runtime may use the memory for other purposes, this memory
is not available to other programs until the runtime exits.
The SORT verb attempts to allocate the amount of memory specified in SORT_MEMORY, but it uses less if that much is not available.