Linux Shells by Example

paste—merges same lines of several files or subsequent lines of one file

paste filename1 filename2…
paste –d list filename1 filename2…
paste –s [ –d list ] filename1 filename2…

paste concatenates corresponding lines of the given input files filename1, filename2, etc. It treats each file as a column or columns of a table and pastes them together horizontally (see "cut" on page683).

Example A.42.

1 ls | paste - - - 2 paste -s -d"\t\n" testfile1 testfile2 3 paste file1 file2

Explanation

1. Files are listed in three columns and glued together with a TAB.

2. Combines a pair of lines into a single line using a TAB and new line as the delimiter, i.e., the first pair of lines are glued with a TAB; the next pair are glued by a newline, the next pair ...