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Asked: 2026-06-16T15:41:22+00:00

I get some data from a query in mysql that I need to convert

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I get some data from a query in mysql that I need to convert to a nice looking table.
Then I use awk and printf to align columns, format numbers, etc.

cat /home/jm/mysql/pruebas/pruebat.txt | awk 'BEGIN { FS = ";" } ; {printf "%-'$A's %-'$B's %'\'''$C'd %'\'''$D'd %'\'''$E'd %'\'''$F'.2f %'\'''$F'.2f %'\'''$F'.2f\n", $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8 }' >> /home/jm/mysql/pruebas/prn.tx

My problem appears when some fields are too long (say, the % variation between too years is -12.345,67%). I would prefer to show just ###### in that case.
If I use a case/when/then/end in my query, I can substitute the long value by the string ######, but as awk+printf reads this field as a decimal number, it shows 0.00% instead of the desired ######.
Is there any way to write “if this variable is too long, just print ######”?
Thanks,

jm

EDIT:

My source file (forget about headers):

S_V;NO INVENTARIABLES;-41.7000;-67.5200;-25.8200;61.91846523;100.00000000;100.00000000
S_A;ARTICULOS PROMOCIONES;54.4400;631.3200;576.8800;1059.66201323;-1412.30712711;-19.76018501
S_B;PRODUCTOS TECNICOS;975.6000;1951.2000;975.6000;100.00000000;36.01476015;34.61254613
S_S;MATERIAL ELECTRICO;2237.6600;5103.2500;2865.5900;128.06190395;40.21030898;43.42859942

My output:

fam     nombre                               2011       2012        var        %   %mgn11   %mgn12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S_V     NO INVENTARIABLES                     -41        -67        -25    61.92   100.00   100.00
S_A     ARTICULOS PROMOCIONES                  54        631        576 1,059.66 -1,412.31   -19.76
S_B     PRODUCTOS TECNICOS                    975      1,951        975   100.00    36.01    34.61
S_S     MATERIAL ELECTRICO                  2,237      5,103      2,865   128.06    40.21    43.43

My wish (or similar):

fam     nombre                               2011       2012        var        %   %mgn11   %mgn12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S_V     NO INVENTARIABLES                     -41        -67        -25    61.92   100.00   100.00
S_A     ARTICULOS PROMOCIONES                  54        631        576   ######   ######   -19.76
S_B     PRODUCTOS TECNICOS                    975      1,951        975   100.00    36.01    34.61
S_S     MATERIAL ELECTRICO                  2,237      5,103      2,865   128.06    40.21    43.43
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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Let’s start by rewriting your script in reasonable shell+awk syntax, best I can tell:

    awk -F\; -v fmt="%-${A}s %-${B}s %'${C}d %'${D}d %'${E}d %'${F}.2f %'${F}.2f %'${F}.2f\n" '
{ printf fmt, $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8 }
' /home/jm/mysql/pruebas/pruebat.txt >> /home/jm/mysql/pruebas/prn.tx

    Now, the problem you have is that your format string is specifically saying to print a number when in fact you want to print a string, so use sprintf to create your numbers and then if you’re not happy with the result change it to a string for output. Something like this (untested):

    awk -F\; -v fmt="%-${A}s %-${B}s %'${C}d %'${D}d %'${E}d %'${F}.2f %'${F}.2f %'${F}.2f\n" '
BEGIN{ split(fmt,fmtA,/ /) }
{
    for (i=1;i<=NF;i++) {
       $i = sprintf(fmtA[i],$i)
       if (gsub(/[^[:space:]]/,"&",$i) > 6) {
           $i = "######"
       }
    }
    print
}
' /home/jm/mysql/pruebas/pruebat.txt >> /home/jm/mysql/pruebas/prn.tx
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