term% cat index.txt CUT(1) General Commands Manual CUT(1)
NAME
cut, paste - rearrange columns of data
SYNOPSIS
cut -clist [ file ... ]
cut -flist [ -dchar ] [ file ... ]
paste [ -s ] [ -dlist ] file ...
DESCRIPTION
Cut selects fields from each line of the files (standard input de‐
fault). In data base parlance, it projects a relation. The fields can
be fixed length, as on a punched card (-c option), or be marked with a
delimiter character (-f option).
The meanings of the options follow. A list is a comma-separated, in‐
creasing list of integers with optional - to indicate ranges, for exam‐
ple 1,3-5,7.
-clist The list specifies character positions.
-flist The list specifies field numbers.
-dchar The character is the delimiter for the -f option. Default is
tab.
-s Suppress lines with no delimiter characters in case of -f op‐
tion. Normally such lines pass through untouched.
Paste concatenates corresponding lines of the input files and places
the result on the standard output. The file name `-' refers to the
standard input. Lines are glued together with tab characters, or with
characters taken circularly from an optionally specified list. The
list may contain the special escape sequences \n (newline), \t (tab),
\\ (backslash), and \0 (empty string, not a null character).
Option -s causes paste to combine successive lines from one file rather
than corresponding lines from multiple files.
EXAMPLES
cut -d: -f1,3 /etc/passwd
mapping of login names to userids
NAME=`who am i | cut -f1 -d" "`
set NAME to current login name (subtly different from `getuid')
ls ⎪ paste - - - -
ls ⎪ paste -s ′-d\t\n′ -
4-column and 2-column file listing
SEE ALSO
grep(1), awk(1), sed(1), pr(1), column(1)
BUGS
Cut should handle disordered lists.
In default of file names, paste should read the the standard input.
CUT(1)