Split output of command by columns using Bash?

Question

I want to do this:

1. run a command
2. capture the output
3. select a line
4. select a column of that line

Just as an example, l

Answer 1

Instead of doing all these greps and stuff, I'd advise you to use ps capabilities of changing output format.

ps -o cmd= -p 12345

You get the cmmand line of a process with the pid specified and nothing else.

This is POSIX-conformant and may be thus considered portable.