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awk:tldr:39f5d

awk: Print the fifth column (a.k.a. field) in a space-separated file.
$ awk '{print $5}' ${filename}
try on your machine

This command uses the awk utility to extract the 5th field (column) from the contents of the file specified by ${filename}.

Here is a breakdown of the command:

  • awk: This is a command-line utility used for text processing and pattern matching in Unix and Linux environments.
  • '...': The command is enclosed in single quotes to ensure that any special characters or spaces within the command are treated literally.
  • {print $5}: This is the action to be performed by awk. It tells awk to print the value of the 5th field from each input line.
  • ${filename}: This is a placeholder representing the actual filename you would provide as an argument to the awk command when executing it. For example, if the actual filename is data.txt, you would replace ${filename} with data.txt.

When the command is executed, awk reads the contents of the file ${filename} line by line. It separates each line into fields based on the specified field separator (typically whitespace). It then prints the value of the 5th field from each line.

This explanation was created by an AI. In most cases those are correct. But please always be careful and never run a command you are not sure if it is safe.
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