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column .. columnar display
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column [-entx] [-c columns] [-s sep] [file ...]
-c n ... output is n columns wide
-s char ... IFS
-t ... create a table
-x ... fill columns before filling rows

The simplest use of column is to produce pretty output

$ cat a
1 2 dog
3    4 cat

$ column -t a
1  2  dog
3  4  cat

The default IFS is "[ ]+". If you want another one, say "," 
$ cat b
1,2,dog
3,4,cat

$ column -s, -t a
1  2  dog
3  4  cat


$ seq 5 | column -x
1	2	3	4	5