[thirdparty/util-linux.git] / text-utils / col.1

.\" Copyright (c) 1990 The Regents of the University of California.
.\" All rights reserved.
.\"
.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
.\" Michael Rendell.
.\"
.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
.\" are met:
.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
.\"    must display the following acknowledgement:
.\"	This product includes software developed by the University of
.\"	California, Berkeley and its contributors.
.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
.\"    without specific prior written permission.
.\"
.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
.\"
.\"     @(#)col.1	6.8 (Berkeley) 6/17/91
.\"
.Dd May 2011 "  "
.Dt COL(1) "" "User Commands"
.Os util-linux
.Sh NAME
.Nm col
.Nd filter reverse line feeds from input
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm col
.Op Fl bfphx
.Op Fl l Ar num
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm
filters out reverse (and half-reverse) line feeds so the output is
in the correct order with only forward and half-forward line
feeds, and replaces white-space characters with tabs where possible.
This can be useful in processing the output of
.Xr nroff 1
and
.Xr tbl  1 .
.Pp
.Nm
reads from standard input and writes to standard output.
.Pp
The options are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width "-lnum"
.It Fl b, Fl Fl no-backspaces
Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character
written to each column position.
.It Fl f, Fl Fl fine
Forward half line feeds are permitted (``fine'' mode).
Normally characters printed on a half-line boundary are printed
on the following line.
.It Fl p, Fl Fl pass
Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged.
Normally,
.Nm col
will filter out any control sequences from the input other than those
recognized and interpreted by itself, which are listed below.
.It Fl h, Fl Fl tabs
Output tabs instead of multiple spaces.
.It Fl x, Fl Fl spaces
Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.
.It Fl l, Fl Fl lines Ar num
Buffer at least
.Ar num
lines in memory.
By default, 128 lines are buffered.
.It Fl V, Fl Fl version
Output version information and exit.
.It Fl H, Fl Fl help
Output help and exit.
.El
.Pp
The control sequences for carriage motion that
.Nm col
understands and their decimal values are listed in the following
table:
.Pp
.Bl -tag -width "carriage return" -compact
.It ESC\-7
reverse line feed (escape then 7)
.It ESC\-8
half reverse line feed (escape then 8)
.It ESC\-9
half forward line feed (escape then 9)
.It backspace
moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column
.It carriage return
(13)
.It newline
forward line feed (10); also does carriage return
.It shift in
shift to normal character set (15)
.It shift out
shift to alternate character set (14)
.It space
moves forward one column (32)
.It tab
moves forward to next tab stop (9)
.It vertical tab
reverse line feed (11)
.El
.Pp
All unrecognized control characters and escape sequences are
discarded.
.Pp
.Nm
keeps track of the character set as characters are read and makes
sure the character set is correct when they are output.
.Pp
If the input attempts to back up to the last flushed line,
.Nm col
will display a warning message.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr expand 1 ,
.Xr nroff 1 ,
.Xr tbl 1
.Sh STANDARDS
The
.Nm col
utility conforms to the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2. The
.Fl l
option is an extension to the standard.
.Sh HISTORY
A
.Nm col
command
appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
.Sh AVAILABILITY
The col command is part of the util-linux package and is available from
ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.
Commit	Line	Data
6dbe3af9 KZ	1	.\" Copyright (c) 1990 The Regents of the University of California.
	2	.\" All rights reserved.
	3	.\"
	4	.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
	5	.\" Michael Rendell.
	6	.\"
	7	.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
	8	.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
	9	.\" are met:
	10	.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
	11	.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
	12	.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
	13	.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
	14	.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
	15	.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
	16	.\" must display the following acknowledgement:
	17	.\" This product includes software developed by the University of
	18	.\" California, Berkeley and its contributors.
	19	.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
	20	.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
	21	.\" without specific prior written permission.
	22	.\"
	23	.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
	24	.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
	25	.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
	26	.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
	27	.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
	28	.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
	29	.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
	30	.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
	31	.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
	32	.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
	33	.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
	34	.\"
	35	.\" @(#)col.1 6.8 (Berkeley) 6/17/91
	36	.\"
62246430 BS	37	.Dd May 2011 " "
62246430 BS	38	.Dt COL(1) "" "User Commands"
232dc924	39	.Os util-linux
6dbe3af9 KZ	40	.Sh NAME
	41	.Nm col
	42	.Nd filter reverse line feeds from input
	43	.Sh SYNOPSIS
	44	.Nm col
0d196114	45	.Op Fl bfphx
6dbe3af9 KZ	46	.Op Fl l Ar num
6dbe3af9 KZ	47	.Sh DESCRIPTION
5bcd986e BS	48	.Nm
	49	filters out reverse (and half-reverse) line feeds so the output is
	50	in the correct order with only forward and half-forward line
6dbe3af9 KZ	51	feeds, and replaces white-space characters with tabs where possible.
	52	This can be useful in processing the output of
	53	.Xr nroff 1
	54	and
	55	.Xr tbl 1 .
	56	.Pp
5bcd986e	57	.Nm
6dbe3af9 KZ	58	reads from standard input and writes to standard output.
	59	.Pp
	60	The options are as follows:
	61	.Bl -tag -width "-lnum"
0d196114	62	.It Fl b, Fl Fl no-backspaces
6dbe3af9 KZ	63	Do not output any backspaces, printing only the last character
6dbe3af9 KZ	64	written to each column position.
0d196114	65	.It Fl f, Fl Fl fine
6dbe3af9	66	Forward half line feeds are permitted (``fine'' mode).
5bcd986e	67	Normally characters printed on a half-line boundary are printed
6dbe3af9	68	on the following line.
0d196114	69	.It Fl p, Fl Fl pass
22853e4a KZ	70	Force unknown control sequences to be passed through unchanged.
	71	Normally,
	72	.Nm col
	73	will filter out any control sequences from the input other than those
	74	recognized and interpreted by itself, which are listed below.
0d196114 SK	75	.It Fl h, Fl Fl tabs
	76	Output tabs instead of multiple spaces.
	77	.It Fl x, Fl Fl spaces
6dbe3af9	78	Output multiple spaces instead of tabs.
0d196114	79	.It Fl l, Fl Fl lines Ar num
6dbe3af9 KZ	80	Buffer at least
	81	.Ar num
	82	lines in memory.
	83	By default, 128 lines are buffered.
0d196114 SK	84	.It Fl V, Fl Fl version
	85	Output version information and exit.
	86	.It Fl H, Fl Fl help
	87	Output help and exit.
6dbe3af9 KZ	88	.El
	89	.Pp
	90	The control sequences for carriage motion that
	91	.Nm col
	92	understands and their decimal values are listed in the following
	93	table:
	94	.Pp
	95	.Bl -tag -width "carriage return" -compact
	96	.It ESC\-7
	97	reverse line feed (escape then 7)
	98	.It ESC\-8
	99	half reverse line feed (escape then 8)
	100	.It ESC\-9
	101	half forward line feed (escape then 9)
	102	.It backspace
	103	moves back one column (8); ignored in the first column
	104	.It carriage return
	105	(13)
	106	.It newline
	107	forward line feed (10); also does carriage return
	108	.It shift in
	109	shift to normal character set (15)
	110	.It shift out
	111	shift to alternate character set (14)
	112	.It space
	113	moves forward one column (32)
	114	.It tab
	115	moves forward to next tab stop (9)
	116	.It vertical tab
	117	reverse line feed (11)
	118	.El
	119	.Pp
	120	All unrecognized control characters and escape sequences are
	121	discarded.
	122	.Pp
5bcd986e	123	.Nm
6dbe3af9 KZ	124	keeps track of the character set as characters are read and makes
	125	sure the character set is correct when they are output.
	126	.Pp
	127	If the input attempts to back up to the last flushed line,
	128	.Nm col
	129	will display a warning message.
	130	.Sh SEE ALSO
	131	.Xr expand 1 ,
	132	.Xr nroff 1 ,
	133	.Xr tbl 1
22853e4a KZ	134	.Sh STANDARDS
	135	The
	136	.Nm col
	137	utility conforms to the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2. The
	138	.Fl l
	139	option is an extension to the standard.
6dbe3af9 KZ	140	.Sh HISTORY
	141	A
	142	.Nm col
	143	command
	144	appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
86d62711	145	.Sh AVAILABILITY
601d12fb KZ	146	The col command is part of the util-linux package and is available from
601d12fb KZ	147	ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/.