Cut Character directive

The CUT-CHARACTER directive selects parts of a string value, accepting standard cut options.

Syntax

cut-character :source :destination <type> <range|indexes>

The <type> <range|indexes> are the standard cut options.

Usage Notes

The standard options for the CUT-CHARACTER directive include a list of one or more ranges of characters. Each range is prefaced with a type (-b byte, -c character, -f field) and written as:

N The N'th byte, character, or field, counting from 1
N- From the N'th byte, character, or field, to the end of the line
N-M From the N'th to M'th (included) byte, character, or field
-M From the first to M'th (included) byte, character, or field

Example

Using this record as an example:

{
  "body": "one two three four five six seven eight"
}

Applying these directives:

cut-character :body one -c 1-3
cut-character :body two -c 5-7
cut-character :body three -c 9-13
cut-character :body four -c 15-
cut-character :body five -c 1,2,3
cut-character :body six -c -3
cut-character :body seven -c 1,2,3-5

results in this record:

{
  "body": "one two three four five six seven eight",
  "one": "one",
  "two": "two",
  "three": "three",
  "four": "four five six seven eight",
  "five": "one",
  "six": "one",
  "seven": "one t"
}