Adapt the PDFtk PDF tool's call syntax with Go
Programming Snapshot – PDFtk Go Variant
© Lead Image © Sergey Nivens, 123RF.com
Go is not only suitable for complex server programs, but it also cuts a fine figure with simple command-line tools for automating everyday life. Mike Schilli restructures the signature of a PDF manipulation tool.
One of my favorite tools at the command line is the PDFtk utility, a veritable Swiss Army knife for merging PDF documents. However, when called, the tool expects unusual syntax for passing parameters, which I find hard to memorize and type every time. That's why I decided to wire up a variant in Go, which tries to guess what the user wants. En route to doing this, the inclined reader will discover how Go reads and writes files, extracts and manipulates single characters from strings, and calls external programs with interactive input, as well as find out how to cross-compile Go programs for various platforms.
For close to a decade now, I've been digitizing paper books and magazines with my scanner and then tossing them into the recycling bin. Sometimes a book comes out as two or more PDFs because the scanner got stuck between two stacks and I had to continue the scanning process with a new document. Sometimes the cover of a hardback book simply will not fit through the scanner feeder, which means that the front and back covers are individual PDF files from a flatbed scanner. PDFtk makes putting the parts together a breeze:
$ pdftk book-*.pdf cat output book.pdf
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.