JCols Parses text files by applying a user specified expression to each line
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JCols Description

JCols is a free and open-source software that parses text files by applying a user specified expression to each line. The line may first be split into columns by whitespace (the default) or by some regular expression (the -r option). The name "JCols" is simply an abbreviation of "Java Columns". This documentation can also be found in the README file included in the JAR file.JCols is an alternative to things like AWK. The utility only has a command line interface. If you're interested in a application with a GUI to parse text files consider something like FlexText or File Parse, but I have not tried either of those programs.If you want a Java implementation of AWK look into jawk. Finally, in some cases the cut command or even bash/sh's set $line to extract fields from a line may be sufficient.The distinguishing characteristics of JCols are that it is a small utility that allows arbitrary expressions in relatively familiar languages (Java and JavaScript) to be specified. Also, JCols' -r option, which allows arbitrary regular expression groups to be mapped to columns, does not seem to have an analogue in AWK.Detailed instructions on how to install and use the JCols utility on your Mac are available HERE.JCols is a cross-platform utility capable of running on any operating system that comes with Java support (e.g. Mac OS X, Windows, Linux).

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