Manual page for PASTE(1V)
paste - join corresponding lines of several files, or subsequent lines of one file
SYNOPSIS
paste
filename1
filename2
...
paste
-dlist
filename1
filename2
...
paste
-s
[
-dlist
]
filename
AVAILABILITY
This command is available with the
System V
software installation option. Refer to
[a manual with the abbreviation INSTALL]
for information on how to install optional software.
DESCRIPTION
In the first two forms,
paste
concatenates corresponding lines of the given input
files
filename1,
filename2,
etc.
It treats each file as a column or columns
of a table and pastes them together horizontally
(parallel merging).
It is the counterpart of
cat.1v
which concatenates vertically, that is,
one file after the other.
In the last form above,
paste
replaces the function of an older command with the same name
by combining subsequent lines of the input file (serial merging).
In all cases,
lines are glued together with the
TAB
character, or with characters from an optionally specified
list.
paste
can be used as a filter, if
-
is used in place of a filename.
OPTIONS
- -d
-
Without this option, the
NEWLINE
characters of each but the last file
(or last line in case of the
-s
option)
are replaced by a
TAB
character. This option allows replacing the
TAB
character by one or more alternate characters in
list.
The list is used circularly; when exhausted, it is reused.
In parallel merging (no
-s
option),
the lines from the last file are always terminated with a
NEWLINE
character,
not from the
list.
list
may contain the special escape sequences:
\n
(NEWLINE),
\t
(tab),
\\
(backslash), and
\0
(empty string, not a null character).
Quoting may be necessary, if characters
have special meaning to the shell.
- -s
-
Merge subsequent lines rather than one from each input file.
Use
TAB
for concatenation, unless
list
is specified
with
-d.
Regardless of the
list,
the very last character of the file is forced to be a
NEWLINE.
EXAMPLES
List directory in four columns:
ls | paste----
Combine pairs of lines into lines:
paste -s -d"\t\n" filename
SEE ALSO
cat.1v
cut.1v
grep.1v
pr.1v
DIAGNOSTICS
- line too long
-
Output lines are restricted to 511 characters.
- too many files
-
Except for
-s
option, no more than 12 input files may be specified.
Created by unroff & hp-tools.
© somebody (See intro for details). All Rights Reserved.
Last modified 11/5/97
