extracting/copy a column into a new column

UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users
1

Hello,

Anybody out there knows how to copy a column data into a blank column using unix command?

Thanks

2

i understand you question as follows:
file1 file2
a b c d ----> a a b c d
a b c d ----> a a b c d
...
solution
awk '{ print $1" "$1" "$2" "$3" "$4 }' <file1 >file2