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33 .TH SED 1 "Feb 14, 2015"
34 .SH NAME
35 \fBsed\fP
36 \- stream editor
37 .SH SYNOPSIS
38 \fBsed\fP
39 [\fB\-Ealnr\fP]
40 \fIcommand\fP
41 [\fIfile ...\fP]
42 .br
43 \fBsed\fP
44 [\fB\-Ealnr\fP]
45 [\fB\-e\fP \fIcommand\fP]
46 [\fB\-f\fP \fIcommand_file\fP]
47 [\fB\-I\fP[\fIextension\fP] | \fB\-i\fP[\fIextension\fP]]
48 [\fIfile ...\fP]
49 .SH DESCRIPTION
50 The
51 \fBsed\fP
52 utility reads the specified files, or the standard input if no files
53 are specified, modifying the input as specified by a list of commands.
54 The input is then written to the standard output.
55
56 A single command may be specified as the first argument to
57 \fB.\fP
58 Multiple commands may be specified by using the
59 \fB\-e\fP
60 or
61 \fB\-f\fP
62 options.
63 All commands are applied to the input in the order they are specified
64 regardless of their origin.
65
66 The following options are available:
67 .TP
68 \fB\-E\fP
69 Interpret regular expressions as extended (modern) regular expressions
70 rather than basic regular expressions (BRE's).
71 The
72 \fBregex\fP(5)
73 manual page fully describes both formats.
74 .TP
75 \fB\-a\fP
76 The files listed as parameters for the
77 ``w''
78 functions are created (or truncated) before any processing begins,
79 by default.
80 The
81 \fB\-a\fP
82 option causes
83 \fBsed\fP
84 to delay opening each file until a command containing the related
85 ``w''
86 function is applied to a line of input.
87 .TP
88 \fB\-e\fP \fIcommand\fP
89 Append the editing commands specified by the
90 \fIcommand\fP
91 argument
92 to the list of commands.
93 .TP
94 \fB\-f\fP \fIcommand_file\fP
95 Append the editing commands found in the file
96 \fIcommand_file\fP
97 to the list of commands.
98 The editing commands should each be listed on a separate line.
99 .TP
100 \fB\-I\fP[\fIextension\fP]
101 Edit files in-place, saving backups if \fIextension\fP was specified.
102 It is not recommended to omit saving backups when in-place editing files,
103 as you risk corruption or partial content in situations where disk
104 space is exhausted, etc.
105
106 Note that in-place editing with
107 \fB\-I\fP
108 still takes place in a single continuous line address space covering
109 all files, although each file preserves its individuality instead of
110 forming one output stream.
111 The line counter is never reset between files, address ranges can span
112 file boundaries, and the
113 ``$''
114 address matches only the last line of the last file.
115 (See
116 .B "Sed Addresses" . )
117 That can lead to unexpected results in many cases of in-place editing,
118 where using
119 \fB\-i\fP
120 is desired.
121 .TP
122 \fB\-i\fP[\fIextension\fP]
123 Edit files in-place similarly to
124 \fB\-I\fP,
125 but treat each file independently from other files.
126 In particular, line numbers in each file start at 1,
127 the
128 ``$''
129 address matches the last line of the current file,
130 and address ranges are limited to the current file.
131 (See
132 .B "Sed Addresses" . )
133 The net result is as though each file were edited by a separate
134 \fBsed\fP
135 instance.
136 .TP
137 \fB\-l\fP
138 Make output line buffered.
139 .TP
140 \fB\-n\fP
141 By default, each line of input is echoed to the standard output after
142 all of the commands have been applied to it.
143 The
144 \fB\-n\fP
145 option suppresses this behavior.
146 .TP
147 \fB\-r\fP
148 Same as
149 \fB\-E\fP
150 for compatibility with GNU sed.
151
152 The form of a
153 \fBsed\fP
154 command is as follows:
155
156 [address[,address]]function[arguments]
157
158 Whitespace may be inserted before the first address and the function
159 portions of the command.
160
161 Normally,
162 \fBsed\fP
163 cyclically copies a line of input, not including its terminating newline
164 character, into a
165 .IR "pattern space" ,
166 (unless there is something left after a
167 ``D''
168 function),
169 applies all of the commands with addresses that select that pattern space,
170 copies the pattern space to the standard output, appending a newline, and
171 deletes the pattern space.
172
173 Some of the functions use a
174 .IR "hold space"
175 to save all or part of the pattern space for subsequent retrieval.
176 .SH "Sed Addresses"
177 An address is not required, but if specified must have one of the
178 following formats:
179 .IP \(bu
180 a number that counts
181 input lines
182 cumulatively across input files (or in each file independently
183 if a
184 \fB\-i\fP
185 option is in effect);
186 .IP \(bu
187 a dollar
188 (``$'')
189 character that addresses the last line of input (or the last line
190 of the current file if a
191 \fB\-i\fP
192 option was specified);
193 .IP \(bu
194 a context address
195 that consists of a regular expression preceded and followed by a
196 delimiter. The closing delimiter can also optionally be followed by the
197 ``I''
198 character, to indicate that the regular expression is to be matched
199 in a case-insensitive way.
200
201 A command line with no addresses selects every pattern space.
202
203 A command line with one address selects all of the pattern spaces
204 that match the address.
205
206 A command line with two addresses selects an inclusive range.
207 This
208 range starts with the first pattern space that matches the first
209 address.
210 The end of the range is the next following pattern space
211 that matches the second address.
212 If the second address is a number
213 less than or equal to the line number first selected, only that
214 line is selected.
215 The number in the second address may be prefixed with a
216 (``\&+'')
217 to specify the number of lines to match after the first pattern.
218 In the case when the second address is a context
219 address,
220 \fBsed\fP
221 does not re-match the second address against the
222 pattern space that matched the first address.
223 Starting at the
224 first line following the selected range,
225 \fBsed\fP
226 starts looking again for the first address.
227
228 Editing commands can be applied to non-selected pattern spaces by use
229 of the exclamation character
230 (``\&!'')
231 function.
232 .SH "Sed Regular Expressions"
233 The regular expressions used in
234 \fB,\fP
235 by default, are basic regular expressions (BREs, see
236 \fBregex\fP(5)
237 for more information), but extended (modern) regular expressions can be used
238 instead if the
239 \fB\-E\fP
240 flag is given.
241 In addition,
242 \fBsed\fP
243 has the following two additions to regular expressions:
244
245 .IP 1.
246 In a context address, any character other than a backslash
247 (``\e'')
248 or newline character may be used to delimit the regular expression.
249 The opening delimiter needs to be preceded by a backslash
250 unless it is a slash.
251 For example, the context address
252 \exabcx
253 is equivalent to
254 /abc/ .
255 Also, putting a backslash character before the delimiting character
256 within the regular expression causes the character to be treated literally.
257 For example, in the context address
258 \exabc\exdefx ,
259 the RE delimiter is an
260 ``x''
261 and the second
262 ``x''
263 stands for itself, so that the regular expression is
264 ``abcxdef''.
265
266 .IP 2.
267 The escape sequence \en matches a newline character embedded in the
268 pattern space.
269 You cannot, however, use a literal newline character in an address or
270 in the substitute command.
271
272 One special feature of
273 \fBsed\fP
274 regular expressions is that they can default to the last regular
275 expression used.
276 If a regular expression is empty, i.e., just the delimiter characters
277 are specified, the last regular expression encountered is used instead.
278 The last regular expression is defined as the last regular expression
279 used as part of an address or substitute command, and at run-time, not
280 compile-time.
281 For example, the command
282 ``/abc/s//XXX/''
283 will substitute
284 ``XXX''
285 for the pattern
286 ``abc''.
287 .SH "Sed Functions"
288 In the following list of commands, the maximum number of permissible
289 addresses for each command is indicated by [0addr], [1addr], or [2addr],
290 representing zero, one, or two addresses.
291
292 The argument
293 .IR text
294 consists of one or more lines.
295 To embed a newline in the text, precede it with a backslash.
296 Other backslashes in text are deleted and the following character
297 taken literally.
298
299 The
300 ``r''
301 and
302 ``w''
303 functions take an optional file parameter, which should be separated
304 from the function letter by white space.
305 Each file given as an argument to
306 \fBsed\fP
307 is created (or its contents truncated) before any input processing begins.
308
309 The
310 ``b'',
311 ``r'',
312 ``s'',
313 ``t'',
314 ``w'',
315 ``y'',
316 ``\&!'',
317 and
318 ``\&:''
319 functions all accept additional arguments.
320 The following synopses indicate which arguments have to be separated from
321 the function letters by white space characters.
322
323 Two of the functions take a function-list.
324 This is a list of
325 \fBsed\fP
326 functions separated by newlines, as follows:
327
328 { function
329 .br
330 function
331 .br
332 ...
333 .br
334 function
335 .br
336 }
337 .br
338
339 The
340 ``{''
341 can be preceded by white space and can be followed by white space.
342 The function can be preceded by white space.
343 The terminating
344 ``}''
345 must be preceded by a newline or optional white space.
346
347 .TP
348 [2addr] function-list
349 Execute function-list only when the pattern space is selected.
350
351 .TP
352 [1addr]a\e
353 .TP
354 text
355 Write
356 .IR text
357 to standard output immediately before each attempt to read a line of input,
358 whether by executing the
359 ``N''
360 function or by beginning a new cycle.
361
362 .TP
363 [2addr]b[label]
364 Branch to the
365 ``\&:''
366 function with the specified label.
367 If the label is not specified, branch to the end of the script.
368
369 .TP
370 [2addr]c\e
371 .TP
372 text
373 Delete the pattern space.
374 With 0 or 1 address or at the end of a 2-address range,
375 .IR text
376 is written to the standard output.
377
378 .TP
379 [2addr]d
380 Delete the pattern space and start the next cycle.
381
382 .TP
383 [2addr]D
384 Delete the initial segment of the pattern space through the first
385 newline character and start the next cycle.
386
387 .TP
388 [2addr]g
389 Replace the contents of the pattern space with the contents of the
390 hold space.
391
392 .TP
393 [2addr]G
394 Append a newline character followed by the contents of the hold space
395 to the pattern space.
396
397 .TP
398 [2addr]h
399 Replace the contents of the hold space with the contents of the
400 pattern space.
401
402 .TP
403 [2addr]H
404 Append a newline character followed by the contents of the pattern space
405 to the hold space.
406
407 .TP
408 [1addr]i\e
409 .TP
410 text
411 Write
412 .IR text
413 to the standard output.
414
415 .TP
416 [2addr]l
417 (The letter ell.)
418 Write the pattern space to the standard output in a visually unambiguous
419 form.
420 This form is as follows:
421
422 .TP
423 backslash
424 \e\e
425 .TP
426 alert
427 \ea
428 .TP
429 form-feed
430 \ef
431 .TP
432 carriage-return
433 \er
434 .TP
435 tab
436 \et
437 .TP
438 vertical tab
439 \ev
440
441 Nonprintable characters are written as three-digit octal numbers (with a
442 preceding backslash) for each byte in the character (most significant byte
443 first).
444 Long lines are folded, with the point of folding indicated by displaying
445 a backslash followed by a newline.
446 The end of each line is marked with a
447 ``$''.
448
449 .TP
450 [2addr]n
451 Write the pattern space to the standard output if the default output has
452 not been suppressed, and replace the pattern space with the next line of
453 input.
454
455 .TP
456 [2addr]N
457 Append the next line of input to the pattern space, using an embedded
458 newline character to separate the appended material from the original
459 contents.
460 Note that the current line number changes.
461
462 .TP
463 [2addr]p
464 Write the pattern space to standard output.
465
466 .TP
467 [2addr]P
468 Write the pattern space, up to the first newline character to the
469 standard output.
470
471 .TP
472 [1addr]q
473 Branch to the end of the script and quit without starting a new cycle.
474
475 .TP
476 [1addr]r file
477 Copy the contents of
478 .IR file
479 to the standard output immediately before the next attempt to read a
480 line of input.
481 If
482 .IR file
483 cannot be read for any reason, it is silently ignored and no error
484 condition is set.
485
486 .TP
487 [2addr]s/regular expression/replacement/flags
488 Substitute the replacement string for the first instance of the regular
489 expression in the pattern space.
490 Any character other than backslash or newline can be used instead of
491 a slash to delimit the RE and the replacement.
492 Within the RE and the replacement, the RE delimiter itself can be used as
493 a literal character if it is preceded by a backslash.
494
495 An ampersand
496 (``&'')
497 appearing in the replacement is replaced by the string matching the RE.
498 The special meaning of
499 ``&''
500 in this context can be suppressed by preceding it by a backslash.
501 The string
502 ``\e#'',
503 where
504 ``#''
505 is a digit, is replaced by the text matched
506 by the corresponding backreference expression (see
507 \fBregex\fP(5)) .
508
509 A line can be split by substituting a newline character into it.
510 To specify a newline character in the replacement string, precede it with
511 a backslash.
512
513 The value of
514 .IR flags
515 in the substitute function is zero or more of the following:
516 .TP
517 \fIN\fP
518 Make the substitution only for the
519 \fIN\fP'th
520 occurrence of the regular expression in the pattern space.
521 .TP
522 g
523 Make the substitution for all non-overlapping matches of the
524 regular expression, not just the first one.
525 .TP
526 p
527 Write the pattern space to standard output if a replacement was made.
528 If the replacement string is identical to that which it replaces, it
529 is still considered to have been a replacement.
530 .TP
531 w file
532 Append the pattern space to
533 .IR file
534 if a replacement was made.
535 If the replacement string is identical to that which it replaces, it
536 is still considered to have been a replacement.
537 .TP
538 I
539 Match the regular expression in a case-insensitive way.
540
541 .TP
542 [2addr]t [label]
543 Branch to the
544 ``\&:''
545 function bearing the label if any substitutions have been made since the
546 most recent reading of an input line or execution of a
547 ``t''
548 function.
549 If no label is specified, branch to the end of the script.
550
551 .TP
552 [2addr]w file
553 Append the pattern space to the
554 .IR file .
555
556 .TP
557 [2addr]x
558 Swap the contents of the pattern and hold spaces.
559
560 .TP
561 [2addr]y/string1/string2/
562 Replace all occurrences of characters in
563 .IR string1
564 in the pattern space with the corresponding characters from
565 .IR string2 .
566 Any character other than a backslash or newline can be used instead of
567 a slash to delimit the strings.
568 Within
569 .IR string1
570 and
571 .IR string2 ,
572 a backslash followed by any character other than a newline is that literal
573 character, and a backslash followed by an ``n'' is replaced by a newline
574 character.
575
576 .TP
577 [2addr]!function
578 .TP
579 [2addr]!function-list
580 Apply the function or function-list only to the lines that are
581 .IR not
582 selected by the address(es).
583
584 .TP
585 [0addr]:label
586 This function does nothing; it bears a label to which the
587 ``b''
588 and
589 ``t''
590 commands may branch.
591
592 .TP
593 [1addr]=
594 Write the line number to the standard output followed by a newline
595 character.
596
597 .TP
598 [0addr]
599 Empty lines are ignored.
600
601 .TP
602 [0addr]#
603 The
604 ``#''
605 and the remainder of the line are ignored (treated as a comment), with
606 the single exception that if the first two characters in the file are
607 ``#n'',
608 the default output is suppressed.
609 This is the same as specifying the
610 \fB\-n\fP
611 option on the command line.
612 .SH ENVIRONMENT
613 The
614 .IR COLUMNS , LANG , LC_ALL , LC_CTYPE
615 and
616 .IR LC_COLLATE
617 environment variables affect the execution of
618 \fBsed\fP
619 as described in
620 \fBenviron\fP(5).
621 .SH EXIT STATUS
622 The \fBsed\fP utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.
623 .SH SEE ALSO
624 \fBawk\fP(1),
625 \fBed\fP(1),
626 \fBgrep\fP(1),
627 \fBregex\fP(5)
628 .SH STANDARDS
629 The
630 \fBsed\fP
631 utility is expected to be a superset of the IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'')
632 specification.
633
634 The
635 \fB\-E\fP, I , a
636 and
637 \fB\-i\fP
638 options, the prefixing
639 ``\&+''
640 in the second member of an address range,
641 as well as the
642 ``I''
643 flag to the address regular expression and substitution command are
644 non-standard extensions and may not be available on other operating systems.
645 .SH HISTORY
646 A
647 \fBsed\fP
648 command, written by L. E. McMahon, appeared in Version 7 AT&T UNIX.
649 .SH AUTHORS
650
651 "Diomidis D. Spinellis" <dds@FreeBSD.org>
652 .SH BUGS
653 Multibyte characters containing a byte with value 0x5C (ASCII `\e')
654 may be incorrectly treated as line continuation characters in arguments to the
655 ``a'',
656 ``c''
657 and
658 ``i''
659 commands.
660 Multibyte characters cannot be used as delimiters with the
661 ``s''
662 and
663 ``y''
664 commands.