awk - Use bash to cluster based on one column of a line -

the input below

a  20  240  15  150 b  65  210 b  80  300 c  90  400 c  34  320 

for each category (labelled a,b,c..in 1st column), i'd find minimum maximum numbers (as biggest range). expect see:

a  15  240 b  65  300 c  34  400 

so how using bash?

using awk:

awk '     !($1 in min) { min[$1] = $2; max[$1] = $3; next }     {         min[$1] = ( $2 < min[$1] ? $2 : min[$1] )         max[$1] = ( $3 > max[$1] ? $3 : max[$1] )     }      end {         for(x in min) print x, min[x], max[x] }' file 15 240 b 65 300 c 34 400 

we iterate each line , assign min , max values map has first column key. in end block iterate hash , print out key , values both maps.