SPLIT(1) BSD Reference Manual SPLIT(1)
split - split a file into pieces
split [-b byte_count[k|m]] [-l line_count] [-p pattern] [file [name]]
The split utility reads the given file (or standard input if no file is
specified) and breaks it up into files of 1000 lines each.
The options are as follows:
-b Create smaller files byte_count bytes in length. If 'k' is ap-
pended to the number, the file is split into byte_count kilobyte
pieces. If 'm' is appended to the number, the file is split into
byte_count megabyte pieces.
-l Create smaller files n lines in length.
-p pattern
The file is split whenever an input line matches pattern, which
is interpreted as an extended regular expression. The matching
line will be the first line of the next output file. This option
is incompatible with the -b and -l options.
If additional arguments are specified, the first is used as the name of
the input file which is to be split. If a second additional argument is
specified, it is used as a prefix for the names of the files into which
the file is split. In this case, each file into which the file is split
is named by the prefix followed by a lexically ordered suffix in the
range of "aa-zz".
If the name argument is not specified, the file is split into lexically
ordered files named in the range of "xaa-zzz".
re_format(7)
A split command appeared in Version 3 AT&T UNIX.
For historical reasons, if you specify name, split can only create 676
separate files. The default naming convention allows 2028 separate files.
The maximum line length for matching patterns is 65536.
MirBSD #10-current April 16, 1994 1