fixed pattern regex, fixed pattern AND operation

.github/workflows/release.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+name: build-and-test
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - "*"
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    name: Build Release Assets
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+
+      - name: Set up Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v1
+        with:
+          go-version: 1.22.11
+
+      - name: Build the executables
+        run: ./mkrel.sh tablizer ${{ github.ref_name}}
+
+      - name: List the executables
+        run: ls -l ./releases
+
+      - name: Upload the binaries
+        uses: svenstaro/upload-release-action@v2
+        with:
+          repo_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          tag: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+          file: ./releases/*
+          file_glob: true

Makefile

@@ -53,8 +53,7 @@ buildlocal:
 	go build -ldflags "-X 'github.com/tlinden/tablizer/cfg.VERSION=$(VERSION)'"
 
 release:
-	./mkrel.sh $(tool) $(version)
-	gh release create $(version) --generate-notes releases/*
+	gh release create $(version) --generate-notes
 
 install: buildlocal
 	install -d -o $(UID) -g $(GID) $(PREFIX)/bin

cfg/config.go

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const DefaultSeparator string = `(\s\s+|\t)`
-const Version string = "v1.3.0"
+const Version string = "v1.3.1"
 const MAXPARTS = 2
 
 var DefaultConfigfile = os.Getenv("HOME") + "/.config/tablizer/config"
@@ -52,6 +52,12 @@ type Transposer struct {
 	Replace string
 }
 
+type Pattern struct {
+	Pattern   string
+	PatternRe *regexp.Regexp
+	Negate    bool
+}
+
 // internal config
 type Config struct {
 	Debug          bool
@@ -62,14 +68,14 @@ type Config struct {
 	Separator      string
 	OutputMode     int
 	InvertMatch    bool
-	Pattern        string
-	PatternR       *regexp.Regexp
+	Patterns       []*Pattern
 	UseFuzzySearch bool
 	UseHighlight   bool
 
-	SortMode       string
-	SortDescending bool
-	SortByColumn   int
+	SortMode        string
+	SortDescending  bool
+	SortByColumn    string // 1,2
+	UseSortByColumn []int  // []int{1,2}
 
 	TransposeColumns    string       // 1,2
 	UseTransposeColumns []int        // []int{1,2}
@@ -332,15 +338,37 @@ func (conf *Config) ApplyDefaults() {
 	}
 }
 
-func (conf *Config) PreparePattern(pattern string) error {
-	PatternR, err := regexp.Compile(pattern)
+func (conf *Config) PreparePattern(patterns []*Pattern) error {
+	// regex checks if a pattern looks like /$pattern/[i!]
+	flagre := regexp.MustCompile(`^/(.*)/([i!]*)$`)
 
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("regexp pattern %s is invalid: %w", conf.Pattern, err)
+	for _, pattern := range patterns {
+		matches := flagre.FindAllStringSubmatch(pattern.Pattern, -1)
+
+		// we have a regex with flags
+		for _, match := range matches {
+			pattern.Pattern = match[1] // the inner part is our actual pattern
+			flags := match[2]          // the flags
+
+			for _, flag := range flags {
+				switch flag {
+				case 'i':
+					pattern.Pattern = `(?i)` + pattern.Pattern
+				case '!':
+					pattern.Negate = true
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		PatternRe, err := regexp.Compile(pattern.Pattern)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("regexp pattern %s is invalid: %w", pattern.Pattern, err)
+		}
+
+		pattern.PatternRe = PatternRe
 	}
 
-	conf.PatternR = PatternR
-	conf.Pattern = pattern
+	conf.Patterns = patterns
 
 	return nil
 }

cfg/config_test.go

@@ -79,20 +79,55 @@ func TestPrepareSortFlags(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestPreparePattern(t *testing.T) {
 	var tests = []struct {
-		pattern string
-		wanterr bool
+		patterns  []*Pattern
+		name      string
+		wanterr   bool
+		wanticase bool
+		wantneg   bool
 	}{
-		{"[A-Z]+", false},
-		{"[a-z", true},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "[A-Z]+"}},
+			"simple",
+			false,
+			false,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "[a-z"}},
+			"regfail",
+			true,
+			false,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "/[A-Z]+/i"}},
+			"icase",
+			false,
+			true,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "/[A-Z]+/!"}},
+			"negate",
+			false,
+			false,
+			true,
+		},
+		{
+			[]*Pattern{{Pattern: "/[A-Z]+/!i"}},
+			"negicase",
+			false,
+			true,
+			true,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, testdata := range tests {
-		testname := fmt.Sprintf("PreparePattern-pattern-%s-wanterr-%t",
-			testdata.pattern, testdata.wanterr)
+		testname := fmt.Sprintf("PreparePattern-pattern-%s-wanterr-%t", testdata.name, testdata.wanterr)
 		t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
 			conf := Config{}
 
-			err := conf.PreparePattern(testdata.pattern)
+			err := conf.PreparePattern(testdata.patterns)
 
 			if err != nil {
 				if !testdata.wanterr {

cmd/root.go

@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ func Execute() {
 		"Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)")
 
 	// sort options
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().IntVarP(&conf.SortByColumn, "sort-by", "k", 0,
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.SortByColumn, "sort-by", "k", "",
 		"Sort by column (default: 1)")
 
 	// sort mode, only 1 allowed

cmd/tablizer.go

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ NAME
 
 SYNOPSIS
         Usage:
-          tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+          tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
     
         Operational Flags:
           -c, --columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
           -N, --no-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
           -H, --no-headers                  Disable headers display
           -s, --separator string            Custom field separator
-          -k, --sort-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+          -k, --sort-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
           -z, --fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
           -F, --filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
           -T, --transpose-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -103,10 +103,19 @@ DESCRIPTION
     highlighted. You can disable this behavior with the -N option.
 
     Use the -k option to specify by which column to sort the tabular data
-    (as in GNU sort(1)). The default sort column is the first one. To
-    disable sorting at all, supply 0 (Zero) to -k. The default sort order is
-    ascending. You can change this to descending order using the option -D.
-    The default sort order is by string, but there are other sort modes:
+    (as in GNU sort(1)). The default sort column is the first one. You can
+    specify column numbers or names. Column numbers start with 1, names are
+    case insensitive. You can specify multiple columns separated by comma to
+    sort, but the type must be the same. For example if you want to sort
+    numerically, all columns must be numbers. If you use column numbers,
+    then be aware, that these are the numbers before column extraction. For
+    example if you have a table with 4 columns and specify "-c4", then only
+    1 column (the fourth) will be printed, however if you want to sort by
+    this column, you'll have to specify "-k4".
+
+    The default sort order is ascending. You can change this to descending
+    order using the option -D. The default sort order is by alphanumeric
+    string, but there are other sort modes:
 
     -a --sort-age
         Sorts duration strings like "1d4h32m51s".
@@ -121,30 +130,43 @@ DESCRIPTION
     for the developer.
 
   PATTERNS AND FILTERING
-    You can reduce the rows being displayed by using a regular expression
-    pattern. The regexp is PCRE compatible, refer to the syntax cheat sheet
-    here: <https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax>. If you want to read a
-    more comprehensive documentation about the topic and have perl installed
-    you can read it with:
+    You can reduce the rows being displayed by using one or more regular
+    expression patterns. The regexp language being used is the one of
+    GOLANG, refer to the syntax cheat sheet here:
+    <https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax>.
+
+    If you want to read a more comprehensive documentation about the topic
+    and have perl installed you can read it with:
 
         perldoc perlre
 
-    Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>.
+    Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>. But please note
+    that the GO regexp engine does NOT support all perl regex terms,
+    especially look-ahead and look-behind.
 
-    A note on modifiers: the regexp engine used in tablizer uses another
-    modifier syntax:
+    If you want to supply flags to a regex, then surround it with slashes
+    and append the flag. The following flags are supported:
 
-        (?MODIFIER)
-
-    The most important modifiers are:
-
-    "i" ignore case "m" multiline mode "s" single line mode
+        i => case insensitive
+        ! => negative match
 
     Example for a case insensitive search:
 
-        kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "(?i)account"
+        kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "/account/i"
 
-    You can use the experimental fuzzy search feature by providing the
+    If you use the "!" flag, then the regex match will be negated, that is,
+    if a line in the input matches the given regex, but "!" is supplied,
+    tablizer will NOT include it in the output.
+
+    For example, here we want to get all lines matching "foo" but not "bar":
+
+        cat table | tablizer foo '/bar/!'
+
+    This would match a line "foo zorro" but not "foo bar".
+
+    The flags can also be combined.
+
+    You can also use the experimental fuzzy search feature by providing the
     option -z, in which case the pattern is regarded as a fuzzy search term,
     not a regexp.
 
@@ -383,7 +405,7 @@ AUTHORS
 var usage = `
 
 Usage:
-  tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+  tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
 
 Operational Flags:
   -c, --columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -392,7 +414,7 @@ Operational Flags:
   -N, --no-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
   -H, --no-headers                  Disable headers display
   -s, --separator string            Custom field separator
-  -k, --sort-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+  -k, --sort-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
   -z, --fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
   -F, --filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
   -T, --transpose-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)

lib/filter.go

@@ -27,15 +27,46 @@ import (
 )
 
 /*
- * [!]Match a  line, use fuzzy  search for normal pattern  strings and
- * regexp otherwise.
- */
+* [!]Match a  line, use fuzzy  search for normal pattern  strings and
+* regexp otherwise.
+
+		'foo bar'  foo, /bar/!  => false => line contains foo and not (not bar)
+	    'foo nix'  foo, /bar/!  => ture  => line contains foo and (not bar)
+		'foo bar'  foo, /bar/   => true  => line contains both foo and bar
+		'foo nix'  foo, /bar/   => false => line does not contain bar
+		'foo bar'  foo, /nix/   => false => line does not contain nix
+*/
 func matchPattern(conf cfg.Config, line string) bool {
-	if conf.UseFuzzySearch {
-		return fuzzy.MatchFold(conf.Pattern, line)
+	if len(conf.Patterns) == 0 {
+		// any line always matches ""
+		return true
 	}
 
-	return conf.PatternR.MatchString(line)
+	if conf.UseFuzzySearch {
+		// fuzzy search only considers the 1st pattern
+		return fuzzy.MatchFold(conf.Patterns[0].Pattern, line)
+	}
+
+	var match int
+
+	//fmt.Printf("<%s>\n", line)
+	for _, re := range conf.Patterns {
+		patmatch := re.PatternRe.MatchString(line)
+		if re.Negate {
+			// toggle the meaning of match
+			patmatch = !patmatch
+		}
+
+		if patmatch {
+			match++
+		}
+
+		//fmt.Printf("patmatch: %t, match: %d, pattern: %s, negate: %t\n", patmatch, match, re.Pattern, re.Negate)
+	}
+
+	// fmt.Printf("result: %t\n", match == len(conf.Patterns))
+	//fmt.Println()
+	return match == len(conf.Patterns)
 }
 
 /*
@@ -123,8 +154,11 @@ func Exists[K comparable, V any](m map[K]V, v K) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
+/*
+ * Filters the whole input lines, returns filtered lines
+ */
 func FilterByPattern(conf cfg.Config, input io.Reader) (io.Reader, error) {
-	if conf.Pattern == "" {
+	if len(conf.Patterns) == 0 {
 		return input, nil
 	}
 
@@ -136,7 +170,7 @@ func FilterByPattern(conf cfg.Config, input io.Reader) (io.Reader, error) {
 		line := strings.TrimSpace(scanner.Text())
 		if hadFirst {
 			// don't match 1st line, it's the header
-			if conf.Pattern != "" && matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
+			if matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
 				// by default  -v is false, so if a  line does NOT
 				// match the pattern, we will ignore it. However,
 				// if the user specified -v, the matching is inverted,

lib/filter_test.go

@@ -27,21 +27,21 @@ import (
 
 func TestMatchPattern(t *testing.T) {
 	var input = []struct {
-		name    string
-		fuzzy   bool
-		pattern string
-		line    string
+		name     string
+		fuzzy    bool
+		patterns []*cfg.Pattern
+		line     string
 	}{
 		{
-			name:    "normal",
-			pattern: "haus",
-			line:    "hausparty",
+			name:     "normal",
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "haus"}},
+			line:     "hausparty",
 		},
 		{
-			name:    "fuzzy",
-			pattern: "hpt",
-			line:    "haus-party-termin",
-			fuzzy:   true,
+			name:     "fuzzy",
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "hpt"}},
+			line:     "haus-party-termin",
+			fuzzy:    true,
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func TestMatchPattern(t *testing.T) {
 				conf.UseFuzzySearch = true
 			}
 
-			err := conf.PreparePattern(inputdata.pattern)
+			err := conf.PreparePattern(inputdata.patterns)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Errorf("PreparePattern returned error: %s", err)
 			}

lib/helpers.go

@@ -99,6 +99,19 @@ func PrepareTransposerColumns(conf *cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// output option, prepare -k1,2 sort fields
+func PrepareSortColumns(conf *cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) error {
+	// -c columns
+	usecolumns, err := PrepareColumnVars(conf.SortByColumn, data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	conf.UseSortByColumn = usecolumns
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func PrepareColumnVars(columns string, data *Tabdata) ([]int, error) {
 	if columns == "" {
 		return nil, nil
@@ -280,12 +293,20 @@ func colorizeData(conf cfg.Config, output string) string {
 
 		return colorized
 
-	case len(conf.Pattern) > 0 && !conf.NoColor && color.IsConsole(os.Stdout):
-		r := regexp.MustCompile("(" + conf.Pattern + ")")
+	case len(conf.Patterns) > 0 && !conf.NoColor && color.IsConsole(os.Stdout):
+		out := output
 
-		return r.ReplaceAllStringFunc(output, func(in string) string {
-			return conf.ColorStyle.Sprint(in)
-		})
+		for _, re := range conf.Patterns {
+			if !re.Negate {
+				r := regexp.MustCompile("(" + re.Pattern + ")")
+
+				out = r.ReplaceAllStringFunc(out, func(in string) string {
+					return conf.ColorStyle.Sprint(in)
+				})
+			}
+		}
+
+		return out
 
 	default:
 		return output

lib/io.go

@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ import (
 const RWRR = 0755
 
 func ProcessFiles(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) error {
-	fd, pattern, err := determineIO(conf, args)
+	fd, patterns, err := determineIO(conf, args)
 
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if err := conf.PreparePattern(pattern); err != nil {
+	if err := conf.PreparePattern(patterns); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@ func ProcessFiles(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	err = PrepareSortColumns(conf, &data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	err = PrepareColumns(conf, &data)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -58,9 +63,9 @@ func ProcessFiles(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, string, error) {
+func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, []*cfg.Pattern, error) {
 	var filehandle io.Reader
-	var pattern string
+	var patterns []*cfg.Pattern
 	var haveio bool
 
 	switch {
@@ -71,7 +76,7 @@ func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, string, error) {
 		fd, err := os.OpenFile(conf.InputFile, os.O_RDONLY, RWRR)
 
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read input file %s: %w", conf.InputFile, err)
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read input file %s: %w", conf.InputFile, err)
 		}
 
 		filehandle = fd
@@ -88,13 +93,15 @@ func determineIO(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) (io.Reader, string, error) {
 	}
 
 	if len(args) > 0 {
-		pattern = args[0]
-		conf.Pattern = args[0]
+		patterns = make([]*cfg.Pattern, len(args))
+		for i, arg := range args {
+			patterns[i] = &cfg.Pattern{Pattern: arg}
+		}
 	}
 
 	if !haveio {
-		return nil, "", errors.New("no file specified and nothing to read on stdin")
+		return nil, nil, errors.New("no file specified and nothing to read on stdin")
 	}
 
-	return filehandle, pattern, nil
+	return filehandle, patterns, nil
 }

lib/parser.go

@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ func parseTabular(conf cfg.Config, input io.Reader) (Tabdata, error) {
 			}
 		} else {
 			// data processing
-			if conf.Pattern != "" && matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
+			if matchPattern(conf, line) == conf.InvertMatch {
 				// by default  -v is false, so if a  line does NOT
 				// match the pattern, we will ignore it. However,
 				// if the user specified -v, the matching is inverted,

lib/parser_test.go

@@ -83,36 +83,42 @@ func TestParser(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestParserPatternmatching(t *testing.T) {
 	var tests = []struct {
-		entries [][]string
-		pattern string
-		invert  bool
-		want    bool
+		name     string
+		entries  [][]string
+		patterns []*cfg.Pattern
+		invert   bool
+		want     bool
 	}{
 		{
+			name: "match",
 			entries: [][]string{
 				{"asd", "igig", "cxxxncnc"},
 			},
-			pattern: "ig",
-			invert:  false,
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "ig"}},
+			invert:   false,
 		},
 		{
+			name: "invert",
 			entries: [][]string{
 				{"19191", "EDD 1", "X"},
 			},
-			pattern: "ig",
-			invert:  true,
+			patterns: []*cfg.Pattern{{Pattern: "ig"}},
+			invert:   true,
 		},
 	}
 
 	for _, inputdata := range input {
 		for _, testdata := range tests {
 			testname := fmt.Sprintf("parse-%s-with-pattern-%s-inverted-%t",
-				inputdata.name, testdata.pattern, testdata.invert)
+				inputdata.name, testdata.name, testdata.invert)
 			t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
-				conf := cfg.Config{InvertMatch: testdata.invert, Pattern: testdata.pattern,
-					Separator: inputdata.separator}
+				conf := cfg.Config{
+					InvertMatch: testdata.invert,
+					Patterns:    testdata.patterns,
+					Separator:   inputdata.separator,
+				}
 
-				_ = conf.PreparePattern(testdata.pattern)
+				_ = conf.PreparePattern(testdata.patterns)
 
 				readFd := strings.NewReader(strings.TrimSpace(inputdata.text))
 				gotdata, err := Parse(conf, readFd)
@@ -125,7 +131,7 @@ func TestParserPatternmatching(t *testing.T) {
 				} else {
 					if !reflect.DeepEqual(testdata.entries, gotdata.entries) {
 						t.Errorf("Parser returned invalid data (pattern: %s, invert: %t)\nExp: %+v\nGot: %+v\n",
-							testdata.pattern, testdata.invert, testdata.entries, gotdata.entries)
+							testdata.name, testdata.invert, testdata.entries, gotdata.entries)
 					}
 				}
 			})

lib/printer.go

@@ -33,15 +33,17 @@ import (
 )
 
 func printData(writer io.Writer, conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
-	// add numbers to headers and remove this we're not interested in
+	//  Sort   the  data  first,  before   headers+entries  are  being
+	// reduced. That way the user can specify any valid column to sort
+	// by, independently if it's being used for display or not.
+	sortTable(conf, data)
+
+	// add numbers to headers and remove those we're not interested in
 	numberizeAndReduceHeaders(conf, data)
 
 	// remove unwanted columns, if any
 	reduceColumns(conf, data)
 
-	// sort the data
-	sortTable(conf, data)
-
 	switch conf.OutputMode {
 	case cfg.Extended:
 		printExtendedData(writer, conf, data)

lib/printer_test.go

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ var tests = []struct {
 	name string // so we can identify which one fails, can be the same
 	// for multiple tests, because flags will be appended to the name
 	sortby    string // empty == default
-	column    int    // sort by this column, 0 == default first or NO Sort
+	column    int    // sort by this column (numbers start by 1)
 	desc      bool   // sort in descending order, default == ascending
 	nonum     bool   // hide numbering
 	mode      int    // shell, orgtbl, etc. empty == default: ascii
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ DURATION(2): 33d12h
 
 	//------------------------ SORT TESTS
 	{
-		name:   "sortbycolumn",
+		name:   "sortbycolumn3",
 		column: 3,
 		sortby: "numeric",
 		desc:   false,
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ beta   	1d10h5m1s  	33      	3/1/2014
 alpha  	4h35m      	170     	2013-Feb-03`,
 	},
 	{
-		name:   "sortbycolumn",
+		name:   "sortbycolumn4",
 		column: 4,
 		sortby: "time",
 		desc:   false,
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ alpha  	4h35m      	170     	2013-Feb-03
 beta   	1d10h5m1s  	33      	3/1/2014`,
 	},
 	{
-		name:   "sortbycolumn",
+		name:   "sortbycolumn2",
 		column: 2,
 		sortby: "duration",
 		desc:   false,
@@ -251,15 +251,14 @@ DURATION(2)	WHEN(4)
 
 func TestPrinter(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, testdata := range tests {
-		testname := fmt.Sprintf("print-sortcol-%d-desc-%t-sortby-%s-mode-%d-usecolumns-%s",
-			testdata.column, testdata.desc, testdata.sortby, testdata.mode, testdata.usecolstr)
+		testname := fmt.Sprintf("print-%s-%d-desc-%t-sortby-%s-mode-%d-usecolumns-%s",
+			testdata.name, testdata.column, testdata.desc, testdata.sortby, testdata.mode, testdata.usecolstr)
 		t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
 			// replaces os.Stdout, but we ignore it
 			var writer bytes.Buffer
 
 			// cmd flags
 			conf := cfg.Config{
-				SortByColumn:   testdata.column,
 				SortDescending: testdata.desc,
 				SortMode:       testdata.sortby,
 				OutputMode:     testdata.mode,
@@ -268,6 +267,10 @@ func TestPrinter(t *testing.T) {
 				NoColor:        true,
 			}
 
+			if testdata.column > 0 {
+				conf.UseSortByColumn = []int{testdata.column}
+			}
+
 			conf.ApplyDefaults()
 
 			// the test checks the len!

lib/sort.go

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 package lib
 
 import (
+	"cmp"
 	"regexp"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
@@ -27,34 +28,41 @@ import (
 )
 
 func sortTable(conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
-	if conf.SortByColumn <= 0 {
+	if len(conf.UseSortByColumn) == 0 {
 		// no sorting wanted
 		return
 	}
 
-	// slightly modified here to match internal array indicies
-	col := conf.SortByColumn
-
-	col-- // ui starts counting by 1, but use 0 internally
-
 	// sanity checks
 	if len(data.entries) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if col >= len(data.headers) {
-		// fall back to default column
-		col = 0
-	}
-
 	// actual sorting
 	sort.SliceStable(data.entries, func(i, j int) bool {
-		return compare(&conf, data.entries[i][col], data.entries[j][col])
+		// holds the result of a sort of one column
+		comparators := []int{}
+
+		// iterate over all columns to be sorted, conf.SortMode must be identical!
+		for _, column := range conf.UseSortByColumn {
+			comparators = append(comparators, compare(&conf, data.entries[i][column-1], data.entries[j][column-1]))
+		}
+
+		// return the combined result
+		res := cmp.Or(comparators...)
+
+		switch res {
+		case 0:
+			return true
+		default:
+			return false
+		}
+
 	})
 }
 
 // config is not modified here, but it would be inefficient to copy it every loop
-func compare(conf *cfg.Config, left string, right string) bool {
+func compare(conf *cfg.Config, left string, right string) int {
 	var comp bool
 
 	switch conf.SortMode {
@@ -88,7 +96,12 @@ func compare(conf *cfg.Config, left string, right string) bool {
 		comp = !comp
 	}
 
-	return comp
+	switch comp {
+	case true:
+		return 0
+	default:
+		return 1
+	}
 }
 
 /*

lib/sort_test.go

@@ -53,18 +53,18 @@ func TestCompare(t *testing.T) {
 		mode string
 		a    string
 		b    string
-		want bool
+		want int
 		desc bool
 	}{
 		// ascending
-		{"numeric", "10", "20", true, false},
-		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", false, false},
-		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", false, false},
+		{"numeric", "10", "20", 0, false},
+		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", 1, false},
+		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", 1, false},
 
 		// descending
-		{"numeric", "10", "20", false, true},
-		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", true, true},
-		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", true, true},
+		{"numeric", "10", "20", 1, true},
+		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", 0, true},
+		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", 0, true},
 	}
 
 	for _, testdata := range tests {
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func TestCompare(t *testing.T) {
 			c := cfg.Config{SortMode: testdata.mode, SortDescending: testdata.desc}
 			got := compare(&c, testdata.a, testdata.b)
 			if got != testdata.want {
-				t.Errorf("got %t, want %t", got, testdata.want)
+				t.Errorf("got %d, want %d", got, testdata.want)
 			}
 		})
 	}

t/test-multipatterns.txtar

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# filtering
+
+# a AND b
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies invasive imperium
+stdout 'namak'
+! stdout human
+
+# a AND !b
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies invasive '/imperium/!'
+stdout 'human'
+! stdout namak
+
+# a AND !b AND c
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies peaceful '/imperium/!' planetary
+stdout 'kenaha'
+! stdout 'namak|heduu|riedl'
+
+# case insensitive
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/REGIONAL/i'
+stdout namak
+! stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+
+# case insensitive negated
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/REGIONAL/!i'
+stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+! stdout namak
+
+# !a AND !b
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/galactic/!' '/planetary/!'
+stdout namak
+! stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+
+# same case insensitive
+exec tablizer -r testtable.txt -H -cspecies '/GALACTIC/i!' '/PLANETARY/!i'
+stdout namak
+! stdout 'human|riedl|heduu|kenaa'
+
+# will be automatically created in work dir
+-- testtable.txt --
+SPECIES   TYPE         HOME     STAGE             SPREAD
+human     invasive     earth    brink             planetary
+riedl     peaceful     keauna   civilized         pangalactic
+namak     invasive     namak    imperium          regional
+heduu     peaceful     iu       imperium          galactic
+kenaha    peaceful     kohi     hunter-gatherer   planetary
+

t/testtable3

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+NAME                                                 READY   STATUS    STARTS      AGE
+alertmanager-kube-prometheus-alertmanager-0          2/2     Running   35          11d
+kube-prometheus-blackbox-exporter-5d85b5d8f4-tskh7   1/1     Running   17          1h44m
+grafana-fcc54cbc9-bk7s8                              1/1     Running   17          1d
+kube-prometheus-kube-state-metrics-b4cd9487-75p7f    1/1     Running   20          45m
+kube-prometheus-node-exporter-bfzpl                  1/1     Running   17          54s

t/testtable4

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ONE  TWO
+1    4
+3    1
+5    2

t/testtable5

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+SPECIES   TYPE         HOME     STAGE
+human     invasive     earth    brink
+riedl     peaceful     keauna   civilized
+namak     invasive     namak    imperium
+heduu     peaceful     iu       imperium
+kenaha    peaceful     kohi     hunter-gatherer

tablizer.1

@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
 .\" ========================================================================
 .\"
 .IX Title "TABLIZER 1"
-.TH TABLIZER 1 "2025-01-14" "1" "User Commands"
+.TH TABLIZER 1 "2025-01-22" "1" "User Commands"
 .\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
 .\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
 .if n .ad l
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ tablizer \- Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 .IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
 .Vb 2
 \&    Usage:
-\&      tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+\&      tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
 \&    
 \&    Operational Flags:
 \&      \-c, \-\-columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ tablizer \- Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 \&      \-N, \-\-no\-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
 \&      \-H, \-\-no\-headers                  Disable headers display
 \&      \-s, \-\-separator string            Custom field separator
-\&      \-k, \-\-sort\-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+\&      \-k, \-\-sort\-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
 \&      \-z, \-\-fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
 \&      \-F, \-\-filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
 \&      \-T, \-\-transpose\-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -250,11 +250,20 @@ By  default, if  a  \fBpattern\fR  has been  speficied,  matches will  be
 highlighted. You can disable this behavior with the \fB\-N\fR option.
 .PP
 Use the  \fB\-k\fR option to specify  by which column to  sort the tabular
-data (as in \s-1GNU\s0 \fBsort\fR\|(1)). The default sort column is the first one. To
-disable sorting at all, supply 0  (Zero) to \-k. The default sort order
-is ascending. You can change this to descending order using the option
-\&\fB\-D\fR. The default  sort order is by string, but  there are other sort
-modes:
+data  (as in  \s-1GNU\s0  \fBsort\fR\|(1)).  The default  sort  column  is the  first
+one. You can specify column numbers or names. Column numbers start
+with 1, names are case insensitive. You can specify multiple columns
+separated by comma to sort, but the type must be the same. For example
+if you want to sort numerically, all columns must be numbers. If you
+use column numbers, then be aware, that these are the numbers before
+column extraction. For example if you have a table with 4 columns and
+specify \f(CW\*(C`\-c4\*(C'\fR, then only 1 column (the fourth) will be printed,
+however if you want to sort by this column, you'll have to specify
+\&\f(CW\*(C`\-k4\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+The default  sort order  is ascending.  You can  change this  to
+descending order using the option \fB\-D\fR.  The default sort order is by
+alphanumeric string, but there are other sort modes:
 .IP "\fB\-a \-\-sort\-age\fR" 4
 .IX Item "-a --sort-age"
 Sorts duration strings like \*(L"1d4h32m51s\*(R".
@@ -269,38 +278,52 @@ Finally the  \fB\-d\fR option  enables debugging  output which  is mostly
 useful for the developer.
 .SS "\s-1PATTERNS AND FILTERING\s0"
 .IX Subsection "PATTERNS AND FILTERING"
-You can reduce the rows being  displayed by using a regular expression
-pattern.  The  regexp is  \s-1PCRE\s0 compatible, refer  to the  syntax cheat
-sheet here: <https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax>.  If you want
-to read  a more comprehensive  documentation about the topic  and have
-perl installed you can read it with:
+You can reduce  the rows being displayed by using  one or more regular
+expression patterns.   The regexp  language being used  is the  one of
+\&\s-1GOLANG,\s0     refer    to     the    syntax     cheat    sheet     here:
+<https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax>.
+.PP
+If you  want to  read a more  comprehensive documentation  about the
+topic and have perl installed you can read it with:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
 \&    perldoc perlre
 .Ve
 .PP
-Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>.
+Or read it online: <https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>. But please note
+that the \s-1GO\s0 regexp engine does \s-1NOT\s0 support all perl regex terms,
+especially look-ahead and look-behind.
 .PP
-A note on  modifiers: the regexp engine used in  tablizer uses another
-modifier syntax:
+If you want to supply flags to a regex, then surround it with slashes
+and append the flag. The following flags are supported:
 .PP
-.Vb 1
-\&    (?MODIFIER)
+.Vb 2
+\&    i => case insensitive
+\&    ! => negative match
 .Ve
 .PP
-The most important modifiers are:
-.PP
-\&\f(CW\*(C`i\*(C'\fR ignore case
-\&\f(CW\*(C`m\*(C'\fR multiline mode
-\&\f(CW\*(C`s\*(C'\fR single line mode
-.PP
 Example for a case insensitive search:
 .PP
 .Vb 1
-\&    kubectl get pods \-A | tablizer "(?i)account"
+\&    kubectl get pods \-A | tablizer "/account/i"
 .Ve
 .PP
-You  can use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
+If you use the \f(CW\*(C`!\*(C'\fR flag, then the regex match will be negated, that
+is, if a line in the input matches the given regex, but \f(CW\*(C`!\*(C'\fR is
+supplied, tablizer will \s-1NOT\s0 include it in the output.
+.PP
+For example, here we want to get all lines matching \*(L"foo\*(R" but not
+\&\*(L"bar\*(R":
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&    cat table | tablizer foo \*(Aq/bar/!\*(Aq
+.Ve
+.PP
+This would match a line \*(L"foo zorro\*(R" but not \*(L"foo bar\*(R".
+.PP
+The flags can also be combined.
+.PP
+You  can also use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
 option \fB\-z\fR, in which case the  pattern is regarded as a fuzzy search
 term, not a regexp.
 .PP

tablizer.pod

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ tablizer - Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
     Usage:
-      tablizer [regex] [file, ...] [flags]
+      tablizer [regex,...] [file, ...] [flags]
     
     Operational Flags:
       -c, --columns string              Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ tablizer - Manipulate tabular output of other programs
       -N, --no-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
       -H, --no-headers                  Disable headers display
       -s, --separator string            Custom field separator
-      -k, --sort-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+      -k, --sort-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
       -z, --fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
       -F, --filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
       -T, --transpose-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -106,11 +106,20 @@ By  default, if  a  B<pattern>  has been  speficied,  matches will  be
 highlighted. You can disable this behavior with the B<-N> option.
 
 Use the  B<-k> option to specify  by which column to  sort the tabular
-data (as in GNU sort(1)). The default sort column is the first one. To
-disable sorting at all, supply 0  (Zero) to -k. The default sort order
-is ascending. You can change this to descending order using the option
-B<-D>. The default  sort order is by string, but  there are other sort
-modes:
+data  (as in  GNU  sort(1)).  The default  sort  column  is the  first
+one. You can specify column numbers or names. Column numbers start
+with 1, names are case insensitive. You can specify multiple columns
+separated by comma to sort, but the type must be the same. For example
+if you want to sort numerically, all columns must be numbers. If you
+use column numbers, then be aware, that these are the numbers before
+column extraction. For example if you have a table with 4 columns and
+specify C<-c4>, then only 1 column (the fourth) will be printed,
+however if you want to sort by this column, you'll have to specify
+C<-k4>.
+
+The default  sort order  is ascending.  You can  change this  to
+descending order using the option B<-D>.  The default sort order is by
+alphanumeric string, but there are other sort modes:
 
 =over
 
@@ -133,32 +142,44 @@ useful for the developer.
 
 =head2 PATTERNS AND FILTERING
 
-You can reduce the rows being  displayed by using a regular expression
-pattern.  The  regexp is  PCRE compatible, refer  to the  syntax cheat
-sheet here: L<https://github.com/google/re2/wiki/Syntax>.  If you want
-to read  a more comprehensive  documentation about the topic  and have
-perl installed you can read it with:
+You can reduce  the rows being displayed by using  one or more regular
+expression patterns.   The regexp  language being used  is the  one of
+GOLANG,     refer    to     the    syntax     cheat    sheet     here:
+L<https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax>.
+
+If you  want to  read a more  comprehensive documentation  about the
+topic and have perl installed you can read it with:
 
     perldoc perlre
 
-Or read it online: L<https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>.
+Or read it online: L<https://perldoc.perl.org/perlre>. But please note
+that the GO regexp engine does NOT support all perl regex terms,
+especially look-ahead and look-behind.
 
-A note on  modifiers: the regexp engine used in  tablizer uses another
-modifier syntax:
+If you want to supply flags to a regex, then surround it with slashes
+and append the flag. The following flags are supported:
 
-    (?MODIFIER)
-
-The most important modifiers are:
-
-C<i> ignore case
-C<m> multiline mode
-C<s> single line mode
+    i => case insensitive
+    ! => negative match
 
 Example for a case insensitive search:
 
-    kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "(?i)account"
+    kubectl get pods -A | tablizer "/account/i"
 
-You  can use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
+If you use the C<!> flag, then the regex match will be negated, that
+is, if a line in the input matches the given regex, but C<!> is
+supplied, tablizer will NOT include it in the output.
+
+For example, here we want to get all lines matching "foo" but not
+"bar":
+
+    cat table | tablizer foo '/bar/!'
+
+This would match a line "foo zorro" but not "foo bar".
+
+The flags can also be combined.
+
+You  can also use  the experimental  fuzzy search  feature by  providing the
 option B<-z>, in which case the  pattern is regarded as a fuzzy search
 term, not a regexp.