Using grep with cut in Bash

Question

I'm trying to go through a CSV file (technically a .gz file) and read the second column. Came across this question but am having some difficulty with using the first answer.

Command I'm using is grep ${VALUE} inputfile.csv | cut -d, -f${INDEX}.

For my shell script, I think it should be grep ${apples} inputfile.csv | cut -d, -f${2}.

However, I'm getting an error of

cut: option requires an argument -- 'f'
Try 'cut --help' for more information

The comma in the command didn't seem right, so I edited it to

grep ${apples} inputfile.csv | cut -d -f${INDEX}

which gave me an error of

The delimiter must be a single character
Try 'cut --help' for more information

What is the right syntax for grabbing the field after apples? CSV file header looks like this - very simple:

fruits | fruitcount

Sean Bright · Accepted Answer · 2015-11-03T22:02:47.673

4

The answer to the question you linked used variables to show where you would place the values you want to use, you don't need the ${} syntax:

grep apples inputfile.csv | cut -d, -f2

edited Nov 03 '15 at 22:02

answered Nov 03 '15 at 19:36

Sean Bright

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`VALUE` could contain spaces, so `"$VALUE"` is better (or `"${VALUE}"` if your prefer – I don't.) – Walter Tross Nov 03 '15 at 19:40
I don't prefer it, but would like to keep it consistent with the referenced question & answer. I've updated to wrap `VALUE` in quotes. – Sean Bright Nov 03 '15 at 19:41
Is the double quotes around `"${VALUE}"` to search exact string? – simplycoding Nov 03 '15 at 19:44
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@simplycoding, it is for the case that `VALUE="apples and pears"`. Without quotes, `grep` would see four arguments instead of two – Walter Tross Nov 03 '15 at 19:46
You don't need to `export` those variables – glenn jackman Nov 03 '15 at 20:17
My most recent edit addresses all of these comments. – Sean Bright Nov 03 '15 at 22:03
Would anyone know how to cast the output of the line into an integer? I can't seem to do any arithmetic functions on it – simplycoding Nov 03 '15 at 22:56
@simplycoding I would suggest opening another question – Sean Bright Nov 03 '15 at 23:03

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 03 '15 at 19:44

0

Equivalently can be replaced with this awk script

awk -F, '/apples/{print $2}' inputfile.csv

answered Nov 03 '15 at 19:44

karakfa

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Using grep with cut in Bash

2 Answers2