csplit(1)
Name
csplit − context split
Syntax
csplit [ −s ] [ −k ] [ −f prefix ] file arg1 [ ...argn ]
Description
The csplit command reads file and separates it into n+1 sections, as defined by the arguments arg1...argn. By default, the sections are placed in xx00...xxn (n may not be greater than 99). The named file is sectioned in the following way:
00: From the start of file up to (but not including) the line referenced by arg1.
01: From the line referenced by arg1 up to the line referenced by arg2.
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n: From the line referenced by argn to the end of file.
If the file argument is a minus (−) then standard input is used. A minus is an ASCII octal 055.
Options
−s Suppresses the printing of all character counts. If the −s option is omitted, the csplit command prints the character counts for each file created.
−k Leaves previously created files intact. If the −k option is omitted, csplit automatically removes created files if an error occurs.
−fprefix Names the created files prefix00...prefixn. The default is xx00...xxn.
The arguments (arg1...argn) to csplit can be a combination of the following:
/rexp/[offset] A file is created for the section from the current line up to (but not including) the line containing the regular expression rexp. The current line becomes the line containing rexp. The optional offset is plus (+) or minus (−) the number of lines. For example, /Page/−5.
%rexp%[offset] This argument is the same as /rexp/[offset], except that no file is created for the section.
lnno A file is created from the current line up to (but not including) lnno. The current line becomes lnno.
{num} Repeat argument. This argument may follow any of the above arguments. If it follows a rexp argument, that argument is applied num more times. If it follows lnno, the file will be split every lnno lines (num times) from that point.
Enclose all rexp type arguments that contain blanks or other characters meaningful to the Shell in the appropriate quotes. Regular expressions should not contain embedded new-lines. The csplit command does not affect the original file; it is the user’s responsibility to remove it.
Examples
csplit −f cobol file /procedure division/ /par5./ /par16./
This example creates four files, cobol00...cobol03. After editing the files that csplit created, they can be recombined as follows:
cat cobol0[0−3] > file
Note that this example overwrites the original file.
csplit −k file 100 {99}
This example splits the file every 100 lines, up to 10,000 lines. The −k option causes the created files to be retained if there are less than 10,000 lines; however, an error message would still be printed.
csplit −k prog.c ′%main(%′ ′/^}/+1′ {20}
Assuming that prog.c follows the normal C coding convention of ending routines with a right brace (}) at the beginning of the line, this example creates a file containing each separate C routine (up to 21) in prog.c.
Diagnostics
The diagnostics are self explanatory except for the following:
arg − out of range
This message means that the given argument did not reference a line between the current position and the end of the file.