Open System Services Shell and Utilities Reference Manual (G06.25+, H06.03+)

cut(1) OSS Shell and Utilities Reference Manual
You must specify the -b flag (to select bytes), the -c flag (to select characters), or the -f flag (to
select fields). The list argument (see the -b, -c, and -f flags) must be a space-separated or
comma-separated list of positive numbers and ranges. Ranges can be in three forms:
• Two positive numbers separated by a - (dash), as in the form low-high, which
represents all fields from the first number to the second number.
• A positive number preceded by a - (dash), as in the form -high, which represents
all fields from field number 1 to that number.
• A positive number followed by a - (dash), as in the form low-, which represents
that number to the last field, inclusive.
The elements in list can be repeated, can overlap, and can be specified in any order.
Some sample list specifications are as follows:
1,4,7 or 147
First, fourth, and seventh bytes or fields.
1-3,8 First through third and eighth bytes or fields.
-5,10 First through fifth and tenth bytes or fields.
3- Third through last bytes or fields.
The fields specified by list can be a fixed number of byte positions, or the length can vary
from line to line and be marked with a field delimiter character, such as a tab character.
You can also use the grep command to make horizontal cuts through a file and the paste
command to put the files back together. To change the order of columns in a file, use the
cut and paste commands.
EXAMPLES
To display several fields of each line of a file, enter:
cut -f 1,5 -d : /etc/passwd
This command displays the login name and full username fields of the system password file.
These are the first and fifth fields (-f 1,5) separated by colons (-d :).
So, if the /etc/passwd file looks like this:
su:UHuj9Pgdvz0J":0:0:User with special privileges:/:
daemon:*:1:1::/etc:
bin:*:2:2::/usr/bin:
sys:*:3:3::/usr/src:
adm:*:4:4:System Administrator:/usr/adm:
pierre:*:200:200:Pierre Harper:/u/pierre:
joan:*:202:200:Joan Brown:/u/joan:
Then cut -f 1,5 -d : /etc/passwd produces this output:
su:User with special privileges
daemon:
bin:
sys:
adm:System Administrator
pierre:Pierre Harper
joan:Joan Brown
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