Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

split

Synopsis

split [option] [infile] [outfile]

Description

Split infile into equal-sized segments. infile remains unchanged, and the results are written to outfile aa, outfile ab, and so on. (default is xaa, xab, etc.). If infile is - (or missing), standard input is read. See also csplit.

Options

-n, -l n, --lines= n

Split infile into n-line segments (default is 1000).

-b n[bkm], --bytes= n[bkm]

Split infile into n-byte segments. Alternate blocksizes may be specified:

b

512 bytes

k

1 kilobyte

m

1 megabyte

-C bytes[bkm], --line-bytes= bytes[bkm]

Put a maximum of bytes into file; insist on adding complete lines.

--help

Print a help message and then exit.

--verbose

Print a message for each output file.

--version

Print version information and then exit.

-

Take input from the standard input.

Examples

Break bigfile into 1000-line segments:

                     split bigfile

Join four files, then split them into 10-line files named new.aa, new.ab, and so on. Note that without the -, new. would be treated as a nonexistent input file:

                     cat list[1-4] | split -10 - new.