split a string

gazingdown · #1 (**permalink**) 02-08-2006

Hi

I have a script that loops though lines of a file and reads each line in to a variable ($LINE).

I want to look at the line and split it into it's constituent parts.

e.g. a line might be "This is a string"
I want to then have variables set to each element thus:
A=This
B=is
C=a
D=string

I'm guessing it should be simple but cannot figure it out.

gauravgoel · #2 (**permalink**) 02-08-2006

can you please elaborate a bit more, maybe with some sample input and output.
And will the no. of word be fixed in the string

jim mcnamara · #3 (**permalink**) 02-08-2006

Code:

while read a b c d e f
do
    echo "a = $a"
    echo "b = $b"
    echo "c = $c"
    echo "d = $d"
    echo "e = $e"
    echo "f = $f"
done < myfile

Add as many variables as the largest possible number of words in a line. Otherwise, consider awk which does all this automatically.

Abhishek Ghose · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2006

whether you need awk depends on what you want to after the assignment. If you want the variable outside the awk statement maybe using awk may not be very helpful. But, in situations , where you require processing data, this is seldom the case---you can do everything you want inside awk.
awk '{for(i=1;i<=NF;++i) { print "Field " i " is "$i} print ""}' file_name for example prints out all fields, in all lines in the file

More UNIX and Linux Forum Topics You Might Find Helpful
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
split string using separetor	rinku	Shell Programming and Scripting	10	06-16-2009 02:01 PM
[KSH] Split string into array	piooooter	Shell Programming and Scripting	3	09-01-2007 12:22 PM
KSH split string into variables	drd_2b	Shell Programming and Scripting	5	04-23-2006 07:07 PM
split string help	senthilk615	Shell Programming and Scripting	4	03-27-2006 06:43 PM
split a file at a specified string	jpl35	Shell Programming and Scripting	6	07-04-2002 11:41 AM

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread: