CUT(1) User Commands CUT(1)

NAME

cut - cut out selected fields of each line of a file

SYNOPSIS

cut -b list [-n] [file]...


cut -c list [file]...


cut -f list [-d delim] [-s] [file]...

DESCRIPTION

Use the cut utility 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, that is, 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.


Either the -b, -c, or -f option must be specified.


Use grep(1) to make horizontal ``cuts'' (by context) through a file,
or paste(1) to put files together column-wise (that is,
horizontally). To reorder columns in a table, use cut and paste.

OPTIONS

The following options are supported:

list
A comma-separated or blank-character-separated list of
integer field numbers (in increasing order), with
optional - to indicate ranges (for instance, 1,4,7;
1-3,8; -5,10 (short for 1-5,10); or 3- (short for third
through last field)).


-b list
The list following -b specifies byte positions (for
instance, -b1-72 would pass the first 72 bytes of each
line). When -b and -n are used together, list is
adjusted so that no multi-byte character is split.


-c list
The list following -c specifies character positions (for
instance, -c1-72 would pass the first 72 characters of
each line).


-d delim
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. delim
can be a multi-byte character.


-f list
The list following -f is a list of fields assumed to be
separated in the file by a delimiter character (see -d
); for instance, -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.


-n
Do not split characters. When -b list and -n are used
together, list is adjusted so that no multi-byte
character is split.


-s
Suppresses lines with no delimiter characters in case of
-f option. Unless specified, lines with no delimiters
will be passed through untouched.

OPERANDS

The following operands are supported:

file
A path name of an input file. If no file operands are
specified, or if a file operand is -, the standard input
will be used.

USAGE

See largefile(7) for the description of the behavior of cut when
encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte (2^31 bytes).

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Mapping user IDs

A mapping of user IDs to names follows:


example% cut -d: -f1,5 /etc/passwd

Example 2: Setting current login name

To set name to current login name:


example$ name=`who am i | cut -f1 -d' '`

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

See environ(7) for descriptions of the following environment
variables that affect the execution of cut: LANG, LC_ALL, LC_CTYPE,
LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH.

EXIT STATUS

The following exit values are returned:

0
All input files were output successfully.


>0
An error occurred.

ATTRIBUTES

See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


+--------------------+-----------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|CSI | Enabled |
+--------------------+-----------------+
|Interface Stability | Standard |
+--------------------+-----------------+

SEE ALSO

grep(1), paste(1), attributes(7), environ(7), largefile(7),
standards(7)

DIAGNOSTICS

cut: -n may only be used with -b


cut: -d may only be used with -f


cut: -s may only be used with -f


cut: cannot open <file>

Either file cannot be read or does not exist. If multiple files
are present, processing continues.


cut: no delimiter specified

Missing delim on -d option.


cut: invalid delimiter


cut: no list specified

Missing list on -b, -c, or -f option.


cut: invalid range specifier


cut: too many ranges specified


cut: range must be increasing


cut: invalid character in range


cut: internal error processing input


cut: invalid multibyte character


cut: unable to allocate enough memory


April 29, 1999 CUT(1)