Command to transpose (swap rows and columns of) a text file

Question

Is there currently a generic command that will "pivot" input.

e.g.

#labeled.file
name: bob
title: code monkey

name: joe
title: pointy haired

is converted to:

name title
bob  code monkey
joe  pointy haired

and vice-versa

Solution

I'm not sure there's something in coreutils that can do this, but it seems your question has been asked before by people not necessarily interested in an existing tool like you seem to be. The following links may be interesting to you as a last resort in case you can't find a tool that already does this.

• Transpose a file in Bash (from Stack Overflow)
• Transposing rows and columns (from this site)

For what it's worth, you may want to take a look at the GNU coreutils manual, especially the 4^th section

Comments

[frogstarr78]

Yeah, it doesn't HAVE to be in coreutils. But I figured there was something already out there and know coreutils has similar type commands.

[Jeff Hewitt]

@frogstarr78 I understand and for all I know there might be such a command out there. I included the coreutils manual so you can at least rule out the existence of such a command in that bundle. Feel free to unaccept the answer and wait for a more enlightened one.

[frogstarr78]

No worries. I frequent the coreutils docs. Never quite found anything useful. Suspect pr could work. But it's crazy complicated. Per your suggestions this is prob a dup post anyway and likely will be rm'd. Thanks though.