p2columns.awk

p2columns.awk

# p2columns.awk
# -------------
# * aligns two-field output into two even columns
# * column width will equal the number of characters in the longest first-field
#           string plus the value of the variable p
# * by default, p (padding) == 1
# * change padding with -v p=N, e.g. to increase padding to 3 spaces:
#
#           awk -v p=3 -f awk-script input-file
#
BEGIN {
	if (! p) p = 1
	n = 0;
};
{
	x = length($1);
	if (x > n) n = x;
	a[NR] = $0;
};
END {
	n += p;
	for ( i = 1; i <= NR; i++ ) {
		split(a[i], z);
		printf "%-"n"s%s\n", z[1], z[2];
	};
}