The `cut' command
=================
The next program we'll look at is the `cut' command. This program
cuts out columns or fields of input data. For example, we can tell it
to print just the login name and full name from the `/etc/passwd file'.
The `/etc/passwd' file has seven fields, separated by colons:
arnold:xyzzy:2076:10:Arnold D. Robbins:/home/arnold:/bin/ksh
To get the first and fifth fields, we would use cut like this:
$ cut -d: -f1,5 /etc/passwd
root:Operator
...
arnold:Arnold D. Robbins
miriam:Miriam A. Robbins
...
With the `-c' option, `cut' will cut out specific characters (i.e.,
columns) in the input lines. This command looks like it might be
useful for data filtering.