expand(1) [hpux man page]
expand(1) General Commands Manual expand(1) NAME
expand, unexpand - expand tabs to spaces, and vice versa SYNOPSIS
tablist] [file ...] tablist] [file ...] Obsolescent: tabstop] tabn] [file ...] DESCRIPTION
processes the named files or the standard input and writes to the standard output with tabs changed into spaces. Backspace characters are preserved in the output, and the column count is decreased by one column for tab calculations. For proper tab calculation, if a multi-col- umn character is to be "backspace'd", it should be followed by multiple backspace characters which equal to it's column width. If a tab character is found after the last tab position, it is replaced by a single space. is useful for preprocessing character files that contain tabs (before sorting, looking at specific columns, etc). recognizes the following command-line options and arguments: tablist specifies where to set the tab positions instead of the default tablist can take two forms. If it is a single num- ber, tabs are set tablist spaces apart. tablist can also be a blank- or comma-separated list of increasing positions where tabs are to be set. This option is obsolescent and is equivalent to using This option is obsolescent and is equivalent to using processes the named files or the standard input and writes to the standard output with spaces changed into tabs where possible. By default, only leading spaces and tabs are converted to maximal strings of tabs. The default tab position is every 8 characters. Backspace characters are preserved into the output, and the column count is decreased by one column for tab calculations. For proper tab calcula- tion, if a multi-column character is to be "backspace'd", it should be followed by multiple backspace characters which equal to it's column width. recognizes the following command-line options and arguments: Tabs are inserted whenever they would compress the resultant file by replacing two or more spaces before a tab position. tablist specifies the tab positions. tablist can take two forms. If it is a single number, tabs are set every tablist spa- ces apart. If tablist is a blank- or comma-separated list of increasing positions, tabs are set at those locations. The option implies the option. If the option is not specified, the default is equivalent to specifying except that is not implied for this case. EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Environment Variables determines the interpretation of text as single and/or multi-byte characters. determines the language in which messages are displayed. If or is not specified in the environment or is set to the empty string, the value of is used as a default for each unspecified or empty variable. If is not specified or is set to the empty string, a default of "C" (see lang(5)) is used instead of If any internationalization variable contains an invalid setting, and behave as if all internationalization variables are set to "C". See environ(5). If is set to a non-empty string value, it overrides the values of all the other internationalization variables. International Code Set Support Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported with the exception that do not recognize multi-byte alternative space characters. STANDARDS CONFORMANCE
expand(1)
Check Out this Related Man Page
EXPAND(1P) POSIX Programmer's Manual EXPAND(1P) PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond- ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux. NAME
expand - convert tabs to spaces SYNOPSIS
expand [-t tablist][file ...] DESCRIPTION
The expand utility shall write files or the standard input to the standard output with <tab>s replaced with one or more <space>s needed to pad to the next tab stop. Any <backspace>s shall be copied to the output and cause the column position count for tab stop calculations to be decremented; the column position count shall not be decremented below zero. OPTIONS
The expand utility shall conform to the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section 12.2, Utility Syntax Guidelines. The following option shall be supported: -t tablist Specify the tab stops. The application shall ensure that the argument tablist consists of either a single positive decimal integer or a list of tabstops. If a single number is given, tabs shall be set that number of column positions apart instead of the default 8. If a list of tabstops is given, the application shall ensure that it consists of a list of two or more positive decimal integers, separated by <blank>s or commas, in ascending order. The tabs shall be set at those specific column positions. Each tab stop N shall be an integer value greater than zero, and the list is in strictly ascending order. This is taken to mean that, from the start of a line of output, tab- bing to position N shall cause the next character output to be in the ( N+1)th column position on that line. In the event of expand having to process a <tab> at a position beyond the last of those specified in a multiple tab-stop list, the <tab> shall be replaced by a single <space> in the output. OPERANDS
The following operand shall be supported: file The pathname of a text file to be used as input. STDIN
See the INPUT FILES section. INPUT FILES
Input files shall be text files. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables shall affect the execution of expand: LANG Provide a default value for the internationalization variables that are unset or null. (See the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section 8.2, Internationalization Variables for the precedence of internationalization variables used to determine the values of locale categories.) LC_ALL If set to a non-empty string value, override the values of all the other internationalization variables. LC_CTYPE Determine the locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to multi-byte characters in arguments and input files), the processing of <tab>s and <space>s, and for the determination of the width in column positions each character would occupy on an output device. LC_MESSAGES Determine the locale that should be used to affect the format and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error. NLSPATH Determine the location of message catalogs for the processing of LC_MESSAGES . ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS
Default. STDOUT
The standard output shall be equivalent to the input files with <tab>s converted into the appropriate number of <space>s. STDERR
The standard error shall be used only for diagnostic messages. OUTPUT FILES
None. EXTENDED DESCRIPTION
None. EXIT STATUS
The following exit values shall be returned: 0 Successful completion >0 An error occurred. CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS
The expand utility shall terminate with an error message and non-zero exit status upon encountering difficulties accessing one of the file operands. The following sections are informative. APPLICATION USAGE
None. EXAMPLES
None. RATIONALE
The expand utility is useful for preprocessing text files (before sorting, looking at specific columns, and so on) that contain <tab>s. See the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, Section 3.103, Column Position. The tablist option-argument consists of integers in ascending order. Utility Syntax Guideline 8 mandates that expand shall accept the inte- gers (within the single argument) separated using either commas or <blank>s. FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None. SEE ALSO
tabs, unexpand COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol- ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html . IEEE
/The Open Group 2003 EXPAND(1P)