CUT
Section: User Commands (1)
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NAME
cut - cut out selected fields of each line of a file
SYNOPSIS
cut -clist [file1 file2 ...]
cut -flist [-dchar] [-s] [file1 file2 ...]
DESCRIPTION
Use
cut
to cut out columns from a table or
fields from each line of a file; in data base parlance, it implements
the projection of a relation.
The fields as specified by
list
can be fixed length,
i.e., character positions as on a punched card
(-c option) or the length can vary from line to line
and be marked with a field delimiter character like
tab
(-f option).
Cut
can be used as a filter;
if no files are given, the standard input is used.
The meanings of the options are:
- list
-
A comma-separated
list of integer field numbers,
with optional - to indicate ranges
as in the
-o
option of
nroff/troff
for page ranges;
e.g.,
1,4,7;
1-3,8;
-5,10
(short for 1-5,10); or
3-
(short for third through last field).
- -clist
-
The
list
following
-c
specifies character
positions (e.g.,
-c1-72
would pass the first 72 characters
of each line).
- -flist
-
The list following
-f
is a list of fields
assumed to be separated in the file by a delimiter character (see
-d
);
e.g.,
-f1,7
copies the first and seventh field only.
Lines with no field delimiters will be passed through intact (useful
for table subheadings), unless
-s
is specified.
- -dchar
-
The character following
-d
is the field delimiter
(-f
option only).
Default is
tab.
Space or other characters with special meaning to the shell must be quoted.
- -s
-
Suppresses lines with no delimiter characters in case of
-f
option.
Unless specified, lines with no delimiters will be passed through untouched.
Either the
-c
or
-f
option must be specified.
HINTS
Use
grep(1)
to make horizontal ``cuts''
(by context) through a file, or
paste(1)
to put files together column-wise
(i.e., horizontally).
To reorder columns in a table, use
cut
and
paste.
EXAMPLES
- cut -d: -f1,5 /etc/passwd
-
mapping of user IDs to names
- name=`who am i | cut -f1 -d" "`
-
to set
name
to current login
name.
DIAGNOSTICS
Error messages may come from getopt(3). All error messages contain limits
for line and field lenghts.
SEE ALSO
grep(1),
paste(1).
getopt(3)
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- HINTS
-
- EXAMPLES
-
- DIAGNOSTICS
-
- SEE ALSO
-
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Time: 00:28:39 GMT, January 03, 2023