chop - extract selected fields or columns of text lines

SYNOPSIS

       chop -flist [ -dseparators ] [ -b ] [ file ... ]
       chop -clist [ file ... ]

DESCRIPTION

       Chop extracts selected fields or columns of lines from the
       specified files or the standard input, and writes them  to
       the  standard  output.   If  you specify -f, chop extracts
       fields.  If you specify -c, chop extracts columns.

       Fields and columns are numbered from 1.  A list of  fields
       or  columns  consists  of  one or more ranges separated by
       commas.  A range is a single number or a minus sign with a
       number  at  one  or  both ends.  An open range runs to the
       corresponding end of the line; for  instance,  -3  is  the
       same  as  1-3,  and  5- means all fields or columns from 5
       onward.  An input line ends with  a  newline,  a  carriage
       return, or a form feed.

       For  the  -f  option, the default input separator is white
       space, and the default output separator is the  horizontal
       tab.   Use  the  -d  option to specify an alternate set of
       input separators; the first of them will be used  on  out-
       put.   If  you  use  the -d option, every occurrence of an
       input separator delimits a field.  If you do  not  specify
       -d, leading white space in a line is normally ignored.  To
       treat leading white space as a separator, specify -b.

       For the -c option, a backspace  character  decrements  the
       column, and a horizontal tab advances to the next standard
       8-column tab stop.

DIAGNOSTICS

       Exits with status 0 on success, 1 on invalid syntax, and 2
       if it cannot read an argument file.

NOTES

       Chop  is  meant  to improve on cut(1).  It has no limit on
       input line width or backspacing, lets many  characters  be
       input  separators  at  once, and accepts white space as an
       input separator.  It is not wholly compatible with cut; in
       particular, it processes all input lines the same way.

SEE ALSO

       cut(1), paste(1), awk(1)

PROVIDER

       G. L. Sicherman  (odyssey!gls)