EXPAND(1) GENIX Programmer's Manual EXPAND(1)
NAME
expand, unexpand - expand tabs to spaces, and vice versa
SYNOPSIS
expand [ -tabstop ] [ -tab1,tab2,...,tabn ] [ file ... ]
unexpand [ -a ] [ file ... ]
DESCRIPTION
Expand processes the named files or the standard input writing the
standard output with tabs changed into blanks. Backspace characters
are preserved into the output and decrement the column count for tab
calculations. Expand is useful for pre-processing character files
(before sorting, looking at specific columns, etc.) that contain
tabs.
If a single tabstop argument is given then tabs are set tabstop
spaces apart instead of the default 8. If multiple tabstops are
given then the tabs are set at those specific columns.
Unexpand puts tabs back into the data from the standard input or the
named files and writes the result on the standard output. By
default only leading blanks and tabs are reconverted to maximal
strings of tabs. If the -a option is given, then tabs are inserted
whenever they would compress the resultant file by replacing two or
more characters.
BUGS
Printed 11/16/83 1