Cut command - problems

I have a file abc with contents :

125
2:pqr:30
3:rst:12

Now, suppose I give cut -d : -f 1 abc -> we get
1
2
3

But, if we have multiple fields in the above command the delimiter is still present.Isn't cut supposed to strip by delimiter ? Will the delimiter between column 1 and 2 be present in the output as well ?

i just cant understand your question completely.

are you asking that why does the command

Code:

cut -d : -f1,2 abc

produces output like

Code:

1:abc
2:pqr
3:rst

or some things else???

Yes. The ":" will be there in the output to separate the columns.

@mightyganesh that was what I was asking!
@Christopher Thanks!

good! it will contain : in the output

do u wanna know how to remove that delimiter from the output ??

then try

Code:

 cat /etc/passwd | cut -d ':' -f1,2,3 | tr ':' '\0'

this will remove the delimiter produced by the code

Code:

cat /etc/passwd | cut -d ':' -f1,2,3