Coreutils - Template

[xmonader]

CoreUtils in Go

Description

Goal is to reimplement several core Unix utilities. giving exposure to Go basics, including file I/O, flag parsing, string manipulation, and more.

Requirements

1. Create Go programs that replicate the functionality of the following Unix utilities:

   • head
   • tail
   • wc (word count)
   • cat
   • echo
   • tree

2. Each utility should be implemented as a separate Go program.

3. Programs should read input from files or stdin as appropriate.

4. Implement basic flags for each utility where applicable.

Example Implementations

1. head

• Print the first 10 lines of input by default.
• Add a -n flag to specify the number of lines to print.

2. tail

• Print the last 10 lines of input by default.
• Add a -n flag to specify the number of lines to print.

3. wc (word count)

• Count lines, words, and characters in the input.
• Add -l, -w, and -c flags to display only lines, words, or characters respectively.

4. cat

• Concatenate and print files.
• Add a -n flag to number output lines.

5. echo

• Print arguments to standard output.
• Add a -n flag to omit the trailing newline.

Acceptance Criteria

• Each utility is implemented as a separate Go program.
• Includes basic error handling.
• Includes a README with build and usage instructions for all utilities.

Resources

• https://go.dev/play/
• https://gobyexample.com/
• Go documentation: https://golang.org/doc/
• Man pages : https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/dir_section_1.html (just man COMMAND)
• https://cheat.sh for quick snippets on how to use each command