LLACROIX@carleton.EDU (Les LaCroix) (05/17/88)
There have been a couple queries about this lately. My favorite detabbing
program is part of the Software Tools package, which can be found on many
of the VAX SIG symposium tapes (and I assume on the L&T SIG tape, too).
(The collection will be named "LBL Implementation of the Software Tools", or
something like that. I just went to the mini-descriptions of the SIG tape
contents and couldn't spot the Software Tools right away, but I know they are
there someplace. DECUS Prog. Lib. VAX-14 is an outdated version -- maybe I'll
do something about that. If you really can't find them, I can make a limited
number of tapes, 1600/6250 9Tr or TK50. Send me an email request first, then
be prepared to send a tape and a self-addressed, self-stamped mailer.)
The manual page for 'detab' follows. Note that it is a "UNIX-like" filter,
as are many of the Software Tools, and allows I/O re-direction on the
command line (which is not documented in the manual page). Plus, if you
run under one of the Software Tools shells, you too can have pipes on your
very own VMS machine!
There are many other useful programs on this distribution -- check it out!
Les LaCroix
SPSS Inc., 402 Washington, Northfield MN USA 55057-2027 tel 507/663-1205
lacroix%spssnf@carleton.edu (CSnet)
lacroix%spssnf.carleton.edu@relay.cs.net (BITNET)
-------------------------- manual page follows --------------------------
Detab (1) 12-Aug-81 Detab (1)
NAME
Detab - convert tabs to spaces
SYNOPSIS
detab [<t1>...] [+<n>] [file] ...
DESCRIPTION
detab converts tab characters (control-i) to equivalent strings
of blanks. Tab stops are indicated by <t1>... (default 9, 17,
...), while +<n> indicates tab stops every <n> columns. Thus
the command
detab 5 21 +5
supplies blanks for tabs terminating at column positions 5, 21,
26, etc. If no files are specified, the standard input is
read. An isolated minus sign also indicates the standard
input.
SEE ALSO
entab
lpr
AUTHORS
Original from Kernighan & Plauger's 'Software Tools', with
modifications by Dennis Hall and Debbie Scherrer.