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SED(1) SED(1)
NAME
sed - a Stream EDitor
SYNOPSIS
sed [-n] [-V] [--quiet] [--silent] [--version] [--help]
[-e script] [--expression=script]
[-f script-file] [--file=script-file]
[script-if-no-other-script]
[file...]
DESCRIPTION
___ is a stream editor. A stream editor is used to per-
form basic text transformations on an input stream (a file
or input from a pipeline). While in some ways similar to
an editor which permits scripted edits (such as __), ___
works by making only one pass over the input(s), and is
consequently more efficient. But it is ___'s ability to
filter text in a pipeline which particularly distinguishes
it from other types of editors.
OPTIONS
___ may be invoked with the following command-line
options:
-V
--version
Print out the version of sed that is being run and
a copyright notice, then exit.
-h
--help Print a usage message briefly summarizing these
command-line options and the bug-reporting address,
then exit.
-n
--quiet
--silent
By default, ___ will print out the pattern space at
the end of each cycle through the script. These
options disable this automatic printing, and ___
will only produce output when explicitly told to
via the p command.
-e ______
--expression=______
Add the commands in ______ to the set of commands
to be run while processing the input.
-f ___________
--file=___________
Add the commands contained in the file ___________
to the set of commands to be run while processing
the input.
If no -e,-f,--expression, or --file options are given on
the command-line, then the first non-option argument on
the command line is taken to be the ______ to be executed.
If any command-line parameters remain after processing the
above, these parameters are interpreted as the names of
input files to be processed. A file name of - refers to
the standard input stream. The standard input will pro-
cessed if no file names are specified.
Command Synopsis
This is just a brief synopsis of ___ commands to serve as
a reminder to those who already know sed; other documenta-
tion (such as the texinfo document) must be consulted for
fuller descriptions.
Zero-address ``commands''
: _____
Label for b and t commands.
#_______
The comment extends until the next newline (or the
end of a -e script fragment).
} The closing bracket of a { } block.
Zero- or One- address commands
= Print the current line number.
a \
____ Append ____, which has each embedded newline pre-
ceeded by a backslash.
i \
____ Insert ____, which has each embedded newline pre-
ceeded by a backslash.
q Immediately quit the ___ script without processing
any more input, except that if auto-print is not
diabled the current pattern space will be printed.
r ________
Append text read from ________.
Commands which accept address ranges
{ Begin a block of commands (end with a }).
b _____
Branch to _____; if _____ is omitted, branch to end
of script.
t _____
If a s/// has done a successful substitution since
the last input line was read and since the last t
command, then branch to _____; if _____ is omitted,
branch to end of script.
c \
____ Replace the selected lines with ____, which has
each embedded newline preceeded by a backslash.
d Delete pattern space. Start next cycle.
D Delete up to the first embedded newline in the pat-
tern space. Start next cycle, but skip reading
from the input if there is still data in the pat-
tern space.
h H Copy/append pattern space to hold space.
g G Copy/append hold space to pattern space.
x Exchange the contents of the hold and pattern
spaces.
l List out the current line in a ``visually unambigu-
ous'' form.
n N Read/append the next line of input into the pattern
space.
p Print the current pattern space.
P Print up to the first embedded newline of the cur-
rent pattern space.
s/______/___________/
Attempt to match ______ against the pattern space.
If successful, replace that portion matched with
___________. The ___________ may contain the spe-
cial character & to refer to that portion of the
pattern space which matched, and the special
escapes \1 through \9 to refer to the corresponding
matching sub-expressions in the ______.
w ________ Write the current pattern space to _____
____.
y/______/____/
Transliterate the characters in the pattern space
which appear in ______ to the corresponding charac-
ter in ____.
Addresses
___ commands can be given with no addresses, in which case
the command will be executed for all input lines; with one
address, in which case the command will only be executed
for input lines which match that address; or with two
addresses, in which case the command will be executed for
all input lines which match the inclusive range of lines
starting from the first address and continuing to the sec-
ond address. Three things to note about address ranges:
the syntax is _____,_____ (i.e., the addresses are sepa-
rated by a comma); the line which _____ matched will
always be accepted, even if _____ selects an earlier line;
and if _____ is a ______, it will not be tested against
the line that _____ matched.
After the address (or address-range), and before the com-
mand, a ! may be inserted, which specifies that the com-
mand shall only be executed if the address (or address-
range) does not match.
The following address types are supported:
______ Match only the specified line ______.
_____~____
Match every ____'th line starting with line _____.
For example, ``sed -n 1~2p'' will print all the
odd-numbered lines in the input stream, and the
address 2~5 will match every fifth line, starting
with the second. (This is a GNU extension.)
$ Match the last line.
/______/
Match lines matching the regular expression ______.
\c______c
Match lines matching the regular expression ______.
The c may be any character.
Regular expressions
POSIX.2 BREs ______ be supported, but they aren't com-
pletely yet. The \n sequence in a regular expression
matches the newline character. There are also some GNU
extensions. [XXX FIXME: more needs to be said. At the
very least, a reference to another document which
describes what is supported should be given.]
Miscellaneous notes
This version of sed supports a \ sequence in all
regular expressions, the ___________ part of a substitute
(s) command, and in the ______ and ____ parts of a
transliterate (y) command. The \ is stripped, and the
newline is kept.
SEE ALSO
awk(1), ed(1), expr(1), emacs(1), perl(1), tr(1), vi(1),
regex(5) [well, one _____ to be written... XXX], sed.info,
any of various books on ___, the ___ FAQ
(http://www.wollery.demon.co.uk/sedtut10.txt,
http://www.ptug.org/sed/sedfaq.htm).
BUGS
E-mail bug reports to bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org. Be sure to
include the word ``sed'' somewhere in the ``Subject:''
field.