When you live in your console, it’s always good to find ways to stay there. The column command was recently brought to my attention by https://sysadmincasts.com/episodes/36-cli-monday-column-and-tr and despite years of console life, godamn I was unaware of this simple tool.
It is very useful for displaying csv files in a readable way, for example:
$ head members_export_0bfc48c38f.csv
LATITUDE,LONGITUDE,CC,REGION
24.7798,120.93,TW,HSZ
52.0927,5.1158,NL,UT
25.0389,121.509,TW,TPE
47.6836,-122.122,US,WA
24.1403,120.682,TW,TXG
37.4055,-122.078,US,CA
37.4055,-122.078,US,CA
37.4055,-122.078,US,CA
26.1405,-80.1738,US,FL
yuck. Let’s prettify it.
$ head members_export_0bfc48c38f.csv | column -t -s,
LATITUDE LONGITUDE CC REGION
24.7798 120.93 TW HSZ
52.0927 5.1158 NL UT
25.0389 121.509 TW TPE
47.6836 -122.122 US WA
24.1403 120.682 TW TXG
37.4055 -122.078 US CA
37.4055 -122.078 US CA
37.4055 -122.078 US CA
26.1405 -80.1738 US FL
ohh, my world just changed!