SORT(1) Br0kE SORT(1)
Text Utilities
NAME
rand - randomize the order of a stream
SYNOPSIS
<cmd> | rand [-lw] [-o <output file>]
rand [-lwvh] [-f <input file>] [-o <output file>]
rand {--help,--version}
DESCRIPTION
rand has 2 major modes of operation. The first is as a pipe. The
second is to act on a specified file. There are 2 minor modes of
operation, the data can be randomized by line or word.
As a pipe, rand collects the stream until it terminates, then displays
the randomized results of this completed stream. If the stream is the
result of several operations, then the stream as a whole is
randomized.
When operating on a file, rand will read the input from a single given
file, and display the results to stdout.
The two command line parameters control if the randomization is per
line or word. The default behavior is to randomize by line. rand -w
will randomize by word, and return one word on every line. A word in
this sense is any string delimited by a whitespace. Tabs, spaces, and
newlines are ignored.
EXAMPLES
play `find -name *.wav | rand `
rand -w -f COPYING -o whatever
rand -l -f history.test -o test.1 /bin/ls | rand -w
AUTHOR
Erik Greenwald < br0ke@math.smsu.edu > < erik@smluc.org >
- 1 - Formatted: November 2, 2025
