ch52_04.htm

the unix power tools

><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61396"
></A
>
The <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>findtext</EM
> shell script prints the names of specified
files that are text files (i.e., human-readable).  
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch16_26.htm"
TITLE="Finding Text Files with findtext "
>16.26</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>flip *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61404"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>flip</EM
> is a Perl script
that reverses the text in a given file line-by-line.
That is,
the first line in the file switches position with the last, the second
line in the file switches with the next-to-last, and so on.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch25_19.htm"
TITLE="Reverse Lines in Long Files with flip "
>25.19</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>GNU fmt</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61412"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>fmt</EM
> neatens text into paragraphs that are (by default) no longer
than 72 characters.
This GNU version has several other formatting features.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch35_02.htm"
TITLE="Neatening Text with fmt "
>35.2</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>fmt.sh *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61420"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>fmt.sh</EM
> is a shell script that uses <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>sed</EM
> and <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>nroff</EM
> to
simulate the behavior of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>fmt</EM
> command.
It is meant for
systems that are not distributed with <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>fmt</EM
> already installed.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch35_03.htm"
TITLE="Alternatives to fmt "
>35.3</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>formprog *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61432"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>formprog</EM
> is a shell script for filling in forms.
It looks for
a template file (argument 1) and prompts the user for information,
placing the completed form into an output file (argument 2).
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch45_22.htm"
TITLE="Handling Files Line-by-Line "
>45.22</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>ftpfile *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61440"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ftpfile</EM
> is a shell script for anonymously <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ftp</EM
>'ing a file.
It is included on the disc as an example of a here document.
Article 
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch08_18.htm"
TITLE="Here Documents "
>8.18</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>GNU awk (gawk), Version 3.0.3</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61449"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gawk</EM
> is a version of <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>awk</EM
> 
from the Free Software Foundation.
It has many more features than the original <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>awk</EM
>.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch33_12.htm"
TITLE="Versions of awk "
>33.12</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>getmac *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61459"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>getmac</EM
> is a shell script for printing a <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>troff</EM
>
macro definition in the specified macro package.  
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch43_20.htm"
TITLE="Displaying a troff Macro Definition "
>43.20</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>getopt</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61468"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>getopt</EM
> is a public-domain implementation of the System V <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>getopt</EM
>
program.
Not to be confused with the library routine, this
program helps scripts parse their options/flags/arguments.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch44_18.htm"
TITLE="Standard Command-Line Parsing "
>44.18</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>glimpse and agrep</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61477"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61479"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>glimpse</EM
> is an indexing and query system that lets you search huge
amounts of text (for example, all of your files) very quickly.
Part of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>glimpse</EM
> package is <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>agrep</EM
>,
a standalone utility for fast text searching.
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>agrep</EM
> is similar to the other members of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>grep</EM
> family,
but it is much more general (and usually faster).
The enhancements
over other <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>grep</EM
>s include
the ability to search for approximate patterns.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch27_08.htm"
TITLE="glimpse and agrep "
>27.8</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>GNU gnroff, Version 1.10</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61492"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gnroff</EM
> is the GNU version of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>nroff</EM
> text formatter.
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gnroff</EM
> is part of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>groff</EM
> package.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch43_17.htm"
TITLE="Don't Have nroff?  Try gnroff or awf "
>43.17</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>grabchars</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61503"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>grabchars</EM
> gets one or more keystrokes from the user without requiring
them to press RETURN.
It was written to make all types of shell scripts
more interactive.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch45_32.htm"
TITLE="A Better read Command: grabchars "
>45.32</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>GNU grep, Version 2.0</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61511"
></A
>
GNU <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>egrep</EM
> (also linked to <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>grep</EM
>) is about<A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61515"
></A
>
twice as fast as stock UNIX <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>egrep</EM
>.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch27_09.htm"
TITLE="New greps Are Much Faster "
>27.9</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>GNU groff, Version 1.10</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61523"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>groff</EM
> is the GNU version of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>troff</EM
> text formatter.
Included are implementations of <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>troff</EM
>, <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>pic</EM
>, <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>eqn</EM
>, <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>tbl</EM
>,
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>refer</EM
>, the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>man</EM
> macros and the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ms</EM
> macros, 
and drivers for PostScript,
TeX dvi format, and typewriter-like devices.
Also included is a
modified version of the Berkeley <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>me</EM
> macros, and an enhanced version
of the
<SPAN
CLASS="link"
>X11 (<A
CLASS="linkend"
HREF="ch01_31.htm"
TITLE="The X Window System "
>1.31</A
>)</SPAN
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>xditview</EM
>.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch43_16.htm"
TITLE="groff "
>43.16</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>GNU gzip, Version 1.2.4</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61542"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61544"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61546"
></A
>
GNU <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gzip</EM
> allows compression of files. 
In addition to the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gzip</EM
> program itself, the package includes
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gunzip</EM
> and <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>gzcat</EM
>.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch24_07.htm"
TITLE="Compressing Files to Save Space "
>24.7</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>head *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61557"
></A
>
The <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>head</EM
> shell script simulates the behavior of the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>head</EM
>
command distributed with many versions of UNIX.
It is meant for
systems that do not have the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>head</EM
> program already installed.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch25_20.htm"
TITLE="Printing the Top of a File "
>25.20</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>hey *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61567"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>hey</EM
> is a shell script for people who use systems other than
UNIX-and type non-UNIX commands on a UNIX
system.
It prints a snide remark to remind you of your mistake, then runs
the UNIX command you intended to use.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch16_15.htm"
TITLE="Script with a :-) for UNIX Converts: dir, ..., ... "
>16.15</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>hgrep, Version OctR88</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61575"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>hgrep</EM
> is a trivial, but cute, front-end for <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>grep</EM
>.
It takes the
results of
the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>grep</EM
> and highlights the word that was searched for.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch27_20.htm"
TITLE="A Highlighting grep "
>27.20</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>index, Version 1.0</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61585"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>index</EM
> allows you to maintain multiple databases of textual
information, each
with a different format.
With each database, <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>index</EM
> allows you to
add entries, delete entries, edit existing entries, search for 
entries using full regular expressions, and run all or part of 
the database through a user-configured filter.
Articles
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch48_11.htm"
TITLE="The index Database Program "
>48.11</A
>
and
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch48_12.htm"
TITLE="Using index with a Filter "
>48.12</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>ipl, Version 1.0</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61595"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ipl</EM
> is a two-dimensional graphic production system.
It produces scatter plots,
line plots, bar graphs, range displays, pie graphs, US/Canada
maps, schedule charts, boxes, arrows, text, etc.
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ipl</EM
> produces
PostScript output, based on a user-supplied control file.  
It also includes a table beautifier that is useful for taking plain text
tables, spreadsheet output, etc. and setting them in a nice font.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch49_09.htm"
TITLE="Business Graphics with ipl "
>49.9</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>ispell, Version 3.1.20</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61604"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ispell</EM
> is a fast screen-oriented spelling checker that shows
your errors in the context of the original file, and suggests possible
corrections when it can figure them out.
Compared to UNIX <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>spell</EM
>, it
is faster and much easier to use.
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ispell</EM
> can also handle languages
other than English.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch29_02.htm"
TITLE="Check Spelling Interactively with ispell "
>29.2</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>jot</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61614"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>jot</EM
> is a simple tool that allows you to print sequential or
random data.
It can be very useful for constructing loops 
in shell scripts.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch45_11.htm"
TITLE="The Multipurpose jot Command "
>45.11</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>lensort *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61622"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>lensort</EM
> sorts lines from shortest to longest.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch36_08.htm"
TITLE="lensort: Sort Lines by Length "
>36.8</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>less, Version 3.21</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61630"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>less</EM
> is an extremely flexible pager and 
is preferred by many to <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>pg</EM
>
or <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>more</EM
>.
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>less</EM
> has all of the functionality of <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>more</EM
>,
in addition to backwards scrolling, bookmarks, searching
(forward and backward, single, and multi-file), and
many other useful features.
Article
<A
CLASS="xref"
HREF="ch25_04.htm"
TITLE='The "less&quot; Pager: More than "more&quot;'
>25.4</A
>.</P
></DD
><DT
CLASS="term"
>lf *</DT
><DD
CLASS="listitem"
><P
CLASS="para"
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61642"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61644"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61646"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61648"
></A
><A
CLASS="indexterm"
NAME="AUTOID-61650"
></A
>
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>lf</EM
> is actually five commands linked to the same script.
Each command results in calling the <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ls</EM
> command with a different
set of command-line options.
In addition to <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>lf</EM
>, there is also
<EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>ll</EM
>, <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>lg</EM
>, <EM
CLASS="emphasis"
>lm</EM
>, and <EM
CLASS="emphasis"