-fc

use c (instead of TAB) as the input column separation character.

-Dn

turn on debugging at level n, or 1 if n is not specified.

-an

all of the rows from tablen (1 or 2) are printed, whether or not the key columns match. If both -a1 and -a2 are specified, or if n is 3, unmatched rows from both tables are printed. The command

$ jointable -a1 ledger chart

prints all of the rows from ledger joined with those chart rows whose key columns match, or with blank columns where there is no match.

-jn column

join on column column in table number n. If n is missing, use the column column in each table. For example:

$ jointable -j1 Account -j2 account ledger chart

will join ledger and chart using the Account column from ledger and the account column from chart as the key columns. This option allows joining on any column defined in either file, even when they have different names and locations.

-n

numeric join. Tables that have been sorted numerically "(sorttable -n)" on the joining columns must also be joined numerically. By default, jointable, like sorttable, expects to process data in alphabetic order and will fail to join the tables correctly if -n is not specified and the input tables are sorted numerically.

-i

ignore blank key column matches.

-b

strip leading, trailing and embedded blanks from key columns before comparing them for the join. Remember that the key columns must be sorted the same way, without regard to any tabs or spaces which may occur within key columns.

$ cat chart
Account Name
------- ----
100     Assets
101     Cash
111     Accounts Receivable
111.1   Allowance for Bad Debt
115     Notes Receivable
120     Deposits
130     Parts Inventory

$ cat ledger
Account Date    Debit   Credit
------- ----    -----   ------
101     920102          25000
101     920103          5000
101     920104  15000
130     920104  30000
150.1   920103  10000
201.1   920104  15000
211.1   920102          25000
211.2   920103          5000

$ jointable ledger chart
Account Date    Debit   Credit  Name
------- ----    -----   ------  ----
101     920102          25000   Cash
101     920103          5000    Cash
101     920104  15000           Cash
130     920104  30000           Parts Inventory
150.1   920103  10000           Test equipment
211.1   920102          25000   Notes Payable - BA
211.2   920103          5000    Notes Payable - Z Equip

The Name column has been added to the columns of the ledger table and the Account column is not repeated in the resulting table. Also, only those rows with matching Account column values are printed. When a table has several rows with repeated key values (in this case, Account 101), the resulting table will also repeat the key values.

If no column names are specified, jointable will use the first column in each table as the key column on which to join. If the key column is not the first column, it must be named on the command line. For example, consider the journal table, sorted on Account:

$ cat journal
Date    Account Debit   Credit
----    ------- -----   ------
920104  101             15000
920103  101              5000
920102  101     25000
920104  130     30000
920103  150.1   10000
920104  201.1           15000
920102  211.1           25000
920103  211.2           5000

To join it with chart:

$ jointable -j Account journal chart

This join works because the key column has the same name in both tables, even though it happens to be in a different position. Because the key column Account in chart is in the first (or default) position, another way to produce the same result as above is:

$ jointable -j1 Account journal chart
Date    Account Debit   Credit  Name
----    ------- -----   ------  ----
920104  101             15000   Cash
920103  101             5000    Cash
920102  101     25000           Cash
920104  130     30000           Parts Inventory
920103  150.1   10000           Test equipment
920102  211.1           25000   Notes Payable - BA
920103  211.2           5000    Notes Payable - Z Equip

The -a option lets you see all of one or both tables whether or not there is a match.

$ jointable -a1 ledger chart
Account Date    Debit   Credit  Name
------- ----    -----   ------  ----
101     920102          15000   Cash
101     920103          5000    Cash
101     920104  25000           Cash
130     920104  30000           Parts Inventory
150.1   920103  10000           Test equipment
201.1   920104  15000
211.1   920102  25000           Notes Payable - BA
211.2   920103  5000            Notes Payable - Z Equip

Account 201.1 from ledger shows up in the resulting table, even though it is not in chart. Placement of the standard input as the first or second table is indicated by the `-' option:

$ sorttable Account < journal | jointable - chart
Date    Account Debit   Credit  Name
------  ------- -----   ------  -------------------------
920102  101     25000             Cash
920103  101               5000    Cash
920104  101              15000    Cash
920104  130     30000             Parts Inventory
920103  150.1   10000             Test equipment
920104  211.1            25000    Notes Payable - BA
920103  211.2             5000    Notes Payable - Z Equip

The `-' before chart indicates the table to be read from the standard input is the first or leftmost table to be joined and it will appear on the left side of the resulting table.