How to AWK multiple columns in bash

Question

I have this table below that has multiple columns. What I want is to print first and the second column only

this command below produces the below table:

kubectl get ing -n my-namespace 


firstcolumn          secondcolumn        third columns
1                    test                value
3                    test2               value
2                    test3               value
5                    test4               value
6                    test                value

expected output should be:

firstcolumn          secondcolumn        
1                    test                
3                    test2               
2                    test3               
5                    test4               
6                    test

this below command only awk the first column.

kubectl get ing -n my-namespace | awk '{ printf "%10s\n", $2 }'

how to awk both first and second columns?

so the value can contain space? for example, I see third columns with a space, can it occur on other columns too? — Kent
– Kent, Commented Apr 30, 2020 at 11:35
awk '{ printf "%10s\n", $2 }' does not print the 1st column, it prints the 2nd column (note the $2 as opposed to $1). Given that $2 means the 2nd column, is it obvious now how to print the 1st column too? If not - is that white space between your columns a single tab char or multiple blank chars or something else? — Ed Morton
– Ed Morton, Commented Apr 30, 2020 at 12:56

RavinderSingh13 · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-30 11:09:05Z

3

Could you please try following. This will print same spaces what is present between your 1st and 2nd fields.

awk '{match($0,/ +/);print $1,substr($0,RSTART,RLENGTH),$2}' Input_file

Explanation: Adding detailed explanation for above code.

awk '                                        ##Starting awk program from here.
{
  match($0,/ +/)                             ##Usingawk match function which will match very first ALL spaces in current line.
  print $1,substr($0,RSTART,RLENGTH),$2      ##Now printing $1 then substring starting from RSTART to RLENGTH(which will have spaces in it) then 2nd field.
}
' Input_file                                 ##Mentioning Input_file name here.

OR in case you are NOT worried about spacing(which I think you are worried about spacig) then you can simply do:

awk '{print $1,$2}'  Input_file

answered Apr 30, 2020 at 11:09

RavinderSingh13

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Comments

Mubashir Usman · Accepted Answer · 2024-03-08 15:03:00Z

1

You can print the first two columns using, kubectl get ing -n my-namespace | awk '{ print $1, $2}'. By default, awk takes space as a column separator.

edited Mar 8, 2024 at 15:03

answered Mar 8, 2024 at 15:01

Mubashir Usman

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