Man page - columns(1)
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Manual
columns
NAMESYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
OPTIONS
Specify the output dimensions
Specify how to lay out the text
Specify the ordering of the entries
Redirecting stdin to an alternate file
OPTION PRESETS
ENVIRONMENT
FILES
EXIT STATUS
SEE ALSO
AUTHORS
COPYRIGHT
BUGS
NOTES
NAME
columns - Columnize Input Text
SYNOPSIS
columns [ -flags ] [ -flag [ value ]] [ --option-name [[=| ] value ]]
All arguments must be options.
DESCRIPTION
There is no description for this command.
OPTIONS
Specify the output dimensions
-W
num
,
--width
=
num
Maximum Line Width.
This option takes an integer
number as its argument. The value of
num
is
constrained to being:
in the range 16 through 4095
The default
num
for this
option is:
79
This option
specifies the full width of the output line, including any
start-of-line indentation. The output will fill each line as
completely as possible, unless the column width has been
explicitly
specified. If the maximum width is less than the length of
the widest
input, you will get a single column of output.
-c
count
,
--columns
=
count
Desired number
of columns. This option takes
an integer number as its argument. The value of
count
is constrained
to being:
in the range 1 through 2048
The default
count
for
this option is:
0
Use this option
to specify exactly how many columns to produce. If
that many columns will not fit within
line_width
,
then the count will
be reduced to the number that fit.
-w
num
,
--col-width
=
num
Set width of each
column. This option takes an
integer number as its argument. The value of
num
is
constrained to
being:
in the range 1 through 2048
The default
num
for this
option is:
0
Use this option
to specify exactly how many characters are to be
allocated for each column. If it is narrower than the widest
entry, it
will be over-ridden with the required width.
--tab-width
=
num
tab width. This option takes an integer number as its
argument. The default
num
for this option is:
8
If an
indentation string contains tabs, then this value is used to
compute the ending column of the prefix string.
Specify how to lay out the text
--spread
=
num
maximum spread added to column width. This option takes
an integer number as its argument. The value of
num
is constrained to
being:
in the range 1 through 1024
The default
num
for this
option is:
0
Use this option
to specify exactly how many characters may be added to
each column. It allows you to prevent columns from becoming
too far
apart. Without this option,
columns
will attempt to
widen columns to
fill the full width.
--fill
Fill lines with input. This option must not appear in
combination with any of the following options: spread,
col_width,
by_columns.
Instead of
columnizing the input text, fill the output lines with the
input lines. Blank lines on input will cause a blank line in
the
output, unless the output is sorted. With sorted output,
blank lines
are ignored.
-I l-pfx , --indent = l-pfx Line prefix or indentation.
If a number,
then this many spaces will be inserted at the start of
every line. Otherwise, it is a line prefix that will be
inserted at
the start of every line.
--first-indent
=
l-pfx
First line prefix. This option must appear in
combination with the following options: indent.
If a number,
then this many spaces will be inserted at the start of the
first line. Otherwise, it is a line prefix that will be
inserted at
the start of that line. If its length exceeds
"indent", then it will
be emitted on a line by itself, suffixed by any line
separation string.
For example:
$ columns
--first=β#define TABLEβ -c 2 -I4 --line=β
Β΄ <<_EOF_
one
two
three
four
_EOF_
#define TABLE one two three four
-f fmt-str , --format = fmt-str Formatting string for each input.
If you need to
reformat each input text, the argument to this option is
interpreted as an
sprintf(3)
format that is used to
produce each output
entry.
-S
sep-str
,
--separation
=
sep-str
Separation string - follows all but
last.
Use this option
if, for example, you wish a comma to appear after each
entry except the last.
--line-separation = sep-str string at end of all lines but last.
Use this option
if, for example, you wish a backslash to appear at the
end of every line, except the last.
--ending = end-str string at end of last line.
This option puts the specified string at the end of the output.
Specify the ordering of the entries
--by-columns Print entries in column order.
Normally, the
entries are printed out in order by rows and then
columns. This option will cause the entries to be ordered
within
columns. The final column, instead of the final row, may be
shorter
than the others.
-s key-pat , --sort [ key-pat ] Sort input text.
Causes the input
text to be sorted. If an argument is supplied, it is
presumed to be a pattern and the sort is based upon the
matched text.
If the pattern starts with or consists of an asterisk
(
*
), then the
sort is case insensitive.
Redirecting stdin to an alternate file
-i file , --input = file Input file (if not stdin).
This program
normally runs as a
filter
, reading from standard
input,
columnizing and writing to standard out. This option
redirects input
to a file.
-? , --help Display usage information and exit.
-! , --more-help Pass the extended usage information through a pager.
->
[
cfgfile
],
--save-opts
[=
cfgfile
] Save
the option state to
cfgfile
.
The default is the
last
configuration file listed in
the
OPTION PRESETS
section, below. The command will exit after updating the
config file.
-<
cfgfile
,
--load-opts
=
cfgfile
,
--no-load-opts
Load options from
cfgfile
. The
no-load-opts
form will disable the
loading of earlier
config/rc/ini files.
--no-load-opts
is handled early,
out of order.
-v
[{
v|c|n
--version
[{
v|c|n
}]}] Output
version of program and exit.
The default mode is βvβ, a simple version. The
βcβ mode will print
copyright information and βnβ will print the
full copyright notice.
OPTION PRESETS
Any option that
is not marked as
not presettable
may be preset by
loading values from configuration ("RC" or
".INI") file(s) and values from environment
variables named:
COLUMNS_<option-name>
or
COLUMNS
The environmental presets take precedence (are processed
later than) the configuration files. The
homerc
files
are "
.
", and "
$HOME
". If
any of these are directories, then the file
.columnsrc
is searched for within those
directories.
ENVIRONMENT
See OPTION PRESETS for configuration environment variables.
FILES
See OPTION PRESETS for configuration files.
EXIT STATUS
One of the
following exit values will be returned:
0 (EXIT_SUCCESS) Successful program execution.
1 (EXIT_FAILURE)
The operation failed or the command syntax was not
valid.
66 (EX_NOINPUT) A specified configuration file could not be loaded.
70 (EX_SOFTWARE)
libopts had an internal operational error. Please
report it to autogen-users@lists.sourceforge.net. Thank
you.
SEE ALSO
This program is documented more fully in the Columns section of the Add-On chapter in the AutoGen Info system documentation.
AUTHORS
Bruce Korb
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 1999-2017 Bruce Korb all rights reserved. This program is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later.
BUGS
Please send bug reports to: autogen-users@lists.sourceforge.net
NOTES
This manual page was AutoGen -erated from the columns option definitions.