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SPLIT(1)		  BSD General Commands Manual		      SPLIT(1)

NAME
     split -- split a file into	pieces

SYNOPSIS
     split [-a suffix_length] [-b byte_count[k|m]] [-l line_count]
	   [-p pattern]	[file [name]]

DESCRIPTION
     The split utility reads the given file and	breaks it up into files	of
     1000 lines	each.  If file is a single dash	(`-') or absent, split reads
     from the standard input.

     The options are as	follows:

     -a	     Use suffix_length letters to form the suffix of the file name.

     -b	     Create smaller files byte_count bytes in length.  If "k" is ap-
	     pended to the number, the file is split into byte_count kilobyte
	     pieces.  If "m" is	appended to the	number,	the file is split into
	     byte_count	megabyte pieces.

     -l	     Create smaller files n lines in length.

     -p	pattern
	     The file is split whenever	an input line matches pattern, which
	     is	interpreted as an extended regular expression.	The matching
	     line will be the first line of the	next output file.  This	option
	     is	incompatible with the -b and -l	options.

     If	additional arguments are specified, the	first is used as the name of
     the input file which is to	be split.  If a	second additional argument is
     specified,	it is used as a	prefix for the names of	the files into which
     the file is split.	 In this case, each file into which the	file is	split
     is	named by the prefix followed by	a lexically ordered suffix using
     suffix_length characters in the range "a-z".  If -a is not	specified, two
     letters are used as the suffix.

     If	the name argument is not specified, the	file is	split into lexically
     ordered files named with prefixes in the range of "x-z" and with suffixes
     as	above.

SEE ALSO
     re_format(7)

STANDARDS
     The split utility conforms	to IEEE	Std 1003.1-2001	("POSIX.1").

HISTORY
     A split command appeared in Version 3 AT&T	UNIX.

BUGS
     For historical reasons, if	you specify name, split	can only create	676
     separate files.  The default naming convention allows 2028	separate
     files.  The -a option can be used to work around this limitation.

     The maximum line length for matching patterns is 65536.

BSD				April 16, 1994				   BSD

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | SEE ALSO | STANDARDS | HISTORY | BUGS

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