globulus

README

NAME

globulus - Filter to re-order columns of a CSV file by entropy, ascending left to right.

SYNPOSIS

globulus [filename]

DESCRIPTION

The program re-orders the columns of a CSV file given as the argument, or on standard input if no file is specified. The aim is to produce a hierarchical arrangement of the records. This is best understood by an example. Given this input

Description	Agent	Price	Region	Category
Eldon Base for stackable storage shelf, platinum	Muhammed MacIntyre	35	Nunavut	Storage & Organization
1.7 Cubic Foot Compact "Cube" Office Refrigerators	Barry French	68.02	Nunavut	Appliances
Cardinal Slant-D® Ring Binder, Heavy Gauge Vinyl	Barry French	2.99	Nunavut	Binders and Binder Accessories
R380	Clay Rozendal	3.99	Nunavut	Telephones and Communication
Holmes HEPA Air Purifier	Carlos Soltero	5.94	Nunavut	Appliances
G.E. Longer-Life Indoor Recessed Floodlight Bulbs	Carlos Soltero	4.95	Nunavut	Office Furnishings
Angle-D Binders with Locking Rings, Label Holders	Carl Jackson	7.72	Nunavut	Binders and Binder Accessories
SAFCO Mobile Desk Side File, Wire Frame	Carl Jackson	6.22	Nunavut	Storage & Organization
SAFCO Commercial Wire Shelving, Black	Monica Federle	35	Nunavut	Storage & Organization
Xerox 198	Dorothy Badders	8.33	Nunavut	Paper

The program re-orders the columns like this:

Region	Category	Agent	Price	Description
Nunavut	Appliances	Barry French	68.02	1.7 Cubic Foot Compact "Cube" Office Refrigerators
Nunavut	Appliances	Carlos Soltero	5.94	Holmes HEPA Air Purifier
Nunavut	Binders and Binder Accessories	Barry French	2.99	Cardinal Slant-D® Ring Binder, Heavy Gauge Vinyl
Nunavut	Binders and Binder Accessories	Carl Jackson	7.72	Angle-D Binders with Locking Rings, Label Holders
Nunavut	Office Furnishings	Carlos Soltero	4.95	G.E. Longer-Life Indoor Recessed Floodlight Bulbs
Nunavut	Paper	Dorothy Badders	8.33	Xerox 198
Nunavut	Storage & Organization	Carl Jackson	6.22	SAFCO Mobile Desk Side File, Wire Frame
Nunavut	Storage & Organization	Monica Federle	35	SAFCO Commercial Wire Shelving, Black
Nunavut	Storage & Organization	Muhammed MacIntyre	35	Eldon Base for stackable storage shelf, platinum
Nunavut	Telephones and Communication	Clay Rozendal	3.99	R380

It works in these steps:

1. counts the number distinct values in each column
2. reorders the columns with priority given to those with the least distinct values
3. outputs the table in the new order.

EXAMPLES

This is a good companion for frangipanni. Which can take the output from globulus and generate the hierarchy, for example we get:

$ ./globulus <test/fixtures/SampleCSVFile_2kb_5col.csv | frangipanni -csv 
Region,Category,Agent,Price,Description
Nunavut
    Storage & Organization
        Muhammed MacIntyre,35,Eldon Base for stackable storage shelf, platinum
        Carl Jackson,6.22,SAFCO Mobile Desk Side File, Wire Frame
        Monica Federle,35,SAFCO Commercial Wire Shelving, Black
    Appliances
        Barry French,68.02,1.7 Cubic Foot Compact "Cube" Office Refrigerators
        Carlos Soltero,5.94,Holmes HEPA Air Purifier
    Binders and Binder Accessories
        Barry French,2.99,Cardinal Slant-D® Ring Binder, Heavy Gauge Vinyl
        Carl Jackson,7.72,Angle-D Binders with Locking Rings, Label Holders
    Telephones and Communication,Clay Rozendal,3.99,R380
    Office Furnishings,Carlos Soltero,4.95,G.E. Longer-Life Indoor Recessed Floodlight Bulbs
    Paper,Dorothy Badders,8.33,Xerox 198

AUTHOR

Written by Peter Birch

REPORTING BUGS

Report any bugs via GitHub issues: https://github.com/birchb1024/globulus/issues

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © Peter William Birch: License MIT

SEE ALSO

frangipanni

Eucalyptus Globulus