mirror of
https://github.com/theryangeary/choose
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83 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
83 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
# Choose
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This is `choose`, a human-friendly alternative to `awk` and `cut`
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## Rationale
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The AWK programming language is designed for text processing and is extremely
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capable in this endeavor. However, the `awk` command is not ideal for rapid
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shell use, with its requisite quoting of a line wrapped in curly braces, even
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for the simplest of programs:
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```bash
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awk '{print $1}'
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```
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Likewise, `cut` is far from ideal for rapid shell use, because it is difficult
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to get the confusing syntax correct on the first attempt. Field separators and
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ranges are just plain difficult to use.
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It is for these reasons that I present to you `choose`. It is not meant to be a
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drop-in or complete replacement for either of the aforementioned tools, but
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rather a simple and intuitive tool to reach for when the basics of `awk` or
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`cut` will do, but the overhead of getting them to behave should not be
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necessary.
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## Usage
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```
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`choose` sections from each line of files
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USAGE:
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choose [FLAGS] [OPTIONS] <choice>...
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FLAGS:
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-d, --debug Activate debug mode
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-h, --help Prints help information
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-n, --inclusive Use inclusive ranges
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-V, --version Prints version information
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OPTIONS:
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-f, --field-separator <field-separator> Specify field separator other than whitespace
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-i, --input <input> Input file
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ARGS:
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<choice>... Fields to print. Either x, x:, :y, or x:y, where x and y are integers, colons indicate a range,
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and an empty field on either side of the colon continues to the beginning or end of the line.
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```
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### Examples
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```bash
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choose 5 # print the 5th item from a line (zero indexed)
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choose -f ':' 0 3 5 # print the 0th, 3rd, and 5th item from a line, where
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# items are separated by ':' instead of whitespace
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choose 2:5 # print everything from the 2nd to 5th item on the line,
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# exclusive of the 5th
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choose -n 2:5 # print everything from the 2nd to 5th item on the line,
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# inclusive of the 5th
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choose :3 # print the beginning of the line to the 3rd item,
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# exclusive
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choose 3: # print the third item to the end of the line
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```
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## Compilation and Installation
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In order to build `choose` you will need rust installed, and you can find
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instructions for that [here](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install).
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Then, to install:
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```bash
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git clone https://github.com/theryangeary/choose.git
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cd choose
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cargo build --release
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install target/release/choose <DESTDIR>
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```
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Just make sure DESTDIR is in your path.
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