The cut Command:

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cut Command in Linux:

cut is a command-line utility that allows you to cut parts of lines from specified files and print the result to standard output. It can be used to cut parts of a line by field or delimiter.
The syntax for the cut command is as follows:

Syntax:

Consider the file and its data:

Cut by Field: To specify the fields that should be cut, write the command with the -f option. When not specified, the default delimiter is “TAB”

• To display the 1st and the 3rd field you would use:

  Example:
  
$ cut test.txt -f 1,3

  Output:
  
245:789 M:4540 535:763 M:3476




• Or if you want to display from the 1st to the 4th field:

  Example:
  
$ cut test.txt -f -4

  Output:
  
245:789 4567 M:4540 Admin 535:763 4987 M:3476 Sales




• To complement the selection field list use --complement option. This will print only those fields that are not selected with the -f option. The following command will print all field except the 1st and 3rd:

  Example:
  
$ cut test.txt -f 1,3 –complement

  Output:
  
4567 Admin 01:10:1980 4987 Sales 11:04:1978


Cut by delimiter: To cut based on a delimiter, invoke the command with the -d option, followed by the delimiter you want to use.

• To display the 1st and 3rd fields using “:” as a delimiter, you would type:

  Example:
  
$ cut test.txt -d ':' -f 1,3

  Output:
  
245:4540 Admin 01 535:3476 Sales 11


Cut by Bytes: To cut by bytes, we’ll use the -b or –bytes option.

• To print the second byte from each line in the file:

  Example:
  
$ cut -b 2 test.txt

  Output:
  
4 3




• To cut by the 2nd, 4th, and 7th bytes simultaneously we’ll use the “,” separator:

  Example:
  
$ cut -b 2,4,7 test.txt

  Output:
  
4:9 3:3




• We can also specify a range, using the “-“ separator:

  Example:
  
$ cut -b 2-7 test.txt

  Output:
  
45:789 35:763


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