Print list/array in columns

Question

I have list/array, for example the $PATH env variable, when you do echo $PATH it prints

/usr/local/bin /usr/bin /bin /usr/sbin /sbin /opt/X11/bin /usr/local/MacGPG2/bin /usr/texbin /usr/local/go/bin

I would like this to be formatted in columns like below, so don’t have to scroll up down much. The $PATH variable is just an example, I would like to way to be able to do it with any list.

/usr/local/bin /usr/sbin    /usr/local/MacGPG2/bin
/usr/bin       /sbin        /usr/texbin
/bin           /opt/X11/bin /usr/local/go/bin

I can print each item in the list in new row using a for loop but can’t figure out a way to do multiple columns. I know there is a column command but that doesn’t seem to do any thing. I’ve tried all the options like echo $PATH | column -c 5

That's not what echo $PATH gets you. And the list of commands isn't at all related to what echo $PATH gets you. I'm confused. You want to print a display of some set of values in nicely formatted columns? — Etan Reisner
– Etan Reisner, Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 16:14
@EtanReisner: it is what you get if you echo $PATH on the fish shell. — cdarke
– cdarke, Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 16:33
@cdarke Ah. Fair enough. I missed the fish tag there at the end. — Etan Reisner
– Etan Reisner, Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 16:34
@EtanReisner The list of commands was just an example of the format I would like, I’ve removed and replaced it with the real output I would like. Sorry about the confusion. — user14492
– user14492, Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 17:09

glenn jackman · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-28 20:08:54Z

Here you go: pass in a variable name and the number of columns you want

$ function columnize -a listvarname -a ncols
      test (count $ncols) -eq 1; or set ncols 1
      printf "%s\n" $$listvarname | \
      eval paste (yes - | head -n $ncols | tr '\n' " ") | \
      column -t
  end

A demo using a non-special list name.

$ set list /usr/local/bin /usr/bin /bin /usr/sbin /sbin /opt/X11/bin /usr/local/MacGPG2/bin /usr/texbin /usr/local/go/bin

$ columnize list 3
/usr/local/bin          /usr/bin     /bin
/usr/sbin               /sbin        /opt/X11/bin
/usr/local/MacGPG2/bin  /usr/texbin  /usr/local/go/bin

$ columnize list 5
/usr/local/bin  /usr/bin                /bin         /usr/sbin          /sbin
/opt/X11/bin    /usr/local/MacGPG2/bin  /usr/texbin  /usr/local/go/bin

$ columnize list 
/usr/local/bin
/usr/bin
/bin
/usr/sbin
/sbin
/opt/X11/bin
/usr/local/MacGPG2/bin
/usr/texbin
/usr/local/go/bin

cdarke · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-28 16:41:02Z

0

Try this:

echo $PATH|sed 's/ /\
/g'|column -xt -c5

Note: after the \ make sure there follows a new-line

answered Apr 28, 2015 at 16:41

cdarke

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1 Comment

user14492 Over a year ago

This just prints the output in one column and multiple rows, which I could have done with a for loop. Thanks anyway, this seems faster than iterating through a list.

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