[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Suggestion for split.c
From: |
Galbraith, Mark |
Subject: |
Suggestion for split.c |
Date: |
Thu, 7 Aug 2003 15:01:40 -0500 |
First, let me
preface this by saying that I'm a new list member, and have not seen any
previous posts made to this list. If this, or something similar, has
already been posted and discussed, please forgive me. Pointers to any list
archives would be appreciated.
I have a suggestion
for a new option and function for the split(1) program. I would like to
explore adding the capability to specify a number of rows from the top of the
source file that will be COPIED to the start of each file produced by
split(1).
As an example,
I have a file that contains 10,000 rows, the first line being a header
row. I want to split this file into files that contain 1,000 rows each,
but I want each output file to also start with the header
row.
I realize that this
would invalidate one of the nice features of the current versions of
split(1). That being that a "Split" file can always be reconstructed using
cat(1). As the default operation of split(1) would be to continue the
current method (no header row copying), I think this "feature" is
safe.
My suggestion is to
use an option like "-H n" (or other option letter as may be determined by the
maintainer of split.c) to specify the number of rows that constitute the
"Header" of the source file. A maximum number of rows would be need to be
determined. I suggest a maximum of 256 lines. While the file is
first being processed, these lines can be copied into a malloc'd buffer that
would be output to the new files created.
I'm sure the design
and coding of this will be a topic for discussion as we refine the requirement
and design. I'm very willing to perform the design and coding of this
change, however I wanted to discuss the change here first. Please let me
know if you have any questions.
--
Mark Galbraith
Managed Services Team Leader
Data Return
LLC
- Suggestion for split.c,
Galbraith, Mark <=