colrm

The colrm command line tool is used to remove selected columns from a file or input stream. It operates by removing the characters from the specified range of columns. The range of columns is defined using the -s and -e options, followed by the starting and ending column numbers. The tool considers the first column to be 1, and all columns are separated by whitespace characters. By default, colrm reads from the standard input, but it also accepts file arguments. When multiple file arguments are provided, colrm concatenates them and treats them as a single input stream. The - option can be used to specify tabs instead of spaces as the column delimiter. The -f option enables automatic line flushing, which ensures that each line written is immediately displayed. colrm is often used in conjunction with other command line tools like cut and awk to manipulate columnar data. It is a simple and efficient tool that comes pre-installed in most Unix-like operating systems.