Joining fields and removing delimiter

This is how to create usernames from the attendance list. It is highly unlikely to be the most efficient way, but its quick and I understand it.

1. Copy the names and surnames from the spreadsheet and paste into a text editor. Save as for example names.
2. Convert to lowercase. Names will be in two columns: firstname and surname:

   dd if=names of=lowercase conv=lcase

3. Create a file for each column, then get just the surname initial (I don't care about the inefficiency of creating all these files instead of cooking up a fancy one-liner)

   cut -f1 lowercase > first
   cut -f2 lowercase > last
   cut -c1 last > lastinitial

4. Join it back up and remove the delimiter:

   paste -d : first lastinitial > fplus1
   cat fplus1 | tr -d : > usernames

Now you have a file of usernames of first names + 1 initial, in lower case. Fix by hand for unusual names with brackets or spaces.