UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hi

I have the following file in the unix named emp.

Code:

ID,NAME,SAL,DEPT
101,aaa,2000,10
102,bbb,3000,20
103,ccc,4000,30
104,ddd,5000,40
105,aaa,2000,50
106,bbb,3000,60
107,ccc,4000,70
108,ddd,5000,10
109,aaa,2000,80

I need to save first 3 columns(ID, NAME, SAL) in another file with .txt format.I have used cut command as follows.

Code:

cut -d ","  | -f 1,2,3 emp > employee.txt

this command worked in cutting first three columns but the problem is the fields are coming in a straight line in "employee.txt" as follows

Code:

101,aaa,2000,10 102,bbb,3000,20 103,ccc,4000,30 104,ddd, 5000,40105,aaa,2000,50 106,bbb,3000,60

but i want the fields to be arranged like it was arranged in unix file like a table.

Plz help me in this regard.

Is that an extra pipe symbol, or a missing command?

Try without the extra pipe character.

Code:

cut -d "," -f 1,2,3 emp > employee.txt

If that doesn't work, please post this diagnostic output so we can see the format of the input file:

Code:

sed -n l emp