FEATURES(1)

NAME
features - Tabulate Features of Items

USAGE
features [-h] [-c col-delim] [-f inputfile] [-i itemwidth] [-l leader] [-n no-str] [-p pagesize] [-w featwidth] [-y yes-str] feature[=width] [feature[=width] ...]

DESCRIPTION
Think of this program as a consumer product comparison checklist tool. For each item, there are features that you would like the product to have, and for some features, several values are possible.

OPTIONS

feature
    Feature Names. Feature names indicate which features to tabulate, and in which order, to describe items. Features on the command line can be exact matches for item's features, but to simplify the format of feature files, features in files can be abbreviated and upper and lower case letters are treated as equivalent. For example, Usability on the command line matches usab=good in the feature file. You can specify the width of a column for a feature by putting a width after an equal sign. See the examples. [c col-delim] Column Delimiter String. Default: bar (|). This string is placed between every feature column describing an item. It can be wider than one character; for example, " | " would give a wider table with more space in columns. [f inputfile] Input file. Default: standard input. This option allows you to specify a file name for the item description lines. [h] Use Horizontal Format for Headers. If this option is selected, then all field widths for features must be specified. [i itemwidth] Width of Items. Default: 15 characters wide. If you have ones that are wider, the tables won't line up correctly. This option allows you to widen the space used to show the items. [l leader] Leader Character After Item Name. Default: underbar (_). [n no-str] String to Print When Item Feature is Not Present. Default: space. [p pagesize] Size of Pages. Default: 60 lines. For every page, a new feature-table header is generated. [w feat-width] Width of Feature Columns. Default: 1 character. This option will allow you to set all the feature column widths. Individual column widths can be overridden with feature widths on the command line. [y yes-string] String to Print When Item Has a Feature. Default: sharp (#). This can be changed to any character. It can also be changed for an individual item-feature pair by using a feature=value format. For example,
    Perlman eyes=H could be used to indicate that Perlman's eyes are hazel. For longer strings, you will want to adjust the width of the columns with the -w option or with the feature name on the command line.

EXAMPLES

  Product Comparisons

Suppose you want to buy a toaster with a bunch of features like inexpensive, reliable, wood-grain and one that holds four slices of bread. These features might be: price (L=low, M=medium, H=high), reliability (yes, no), finish (M=metal, W=wood-grain, O=other), and capacity (number of slices of bread). A set of toasters (items) might be described by a list of features:
	BrandX	price=Med reliable finish=Wood capacity=4
	BrandY	price=High finish=Metal capacity=2
	BrandZ	price=Low finish=Wood capacity=4
The above input, along with the feature labels:
	Price Reliable Finish Capacity
in the command:
	features -c " | " Price=4 Reliable Finish=6 Capacity
will display:
	                | Price
	                |      | Reliable
	                |      |   | Finish
	                |      |   |        | Capacity
	BrandX_________ | Med  | # | Wood   | 4 |
	BrandY_________ | High |   | Metal  | 2 |
	BrandZ_________ | Low  |   | Wood   | 4 |

Another command shows how the same information can be viewed differently.
	features -l. -c" " -h -nNo -yYes Price=6 Reliable=10 Finish=6 Capacity=10
	                Price  Reliable   Finish Capacity
	BrandX......... Med    Yes        Wood   4
	BrandY......... High   No         Metal  2
	BrandZ......... Low    No         Wood   4

  Other Uses
The program has been useful for organizing lists of publications by the topics they cover and for listing the research interests of faculty in a large Midwest computer science department.

SEE ALSO
ptx(1), sort(1)

AUTHOR
Gary Perlman

WARNINGS
Try to avoid similar feature names, especially ones that begin with the same characters.