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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 function
330 ...
331 function
332 .br
333 }
334
335 The
336 ``{''
337 can be preceded by white space and can be followed by white space.
338 The function can be preceded by white space.
339 The terminating
340 ``}''
341 must be preceded by a newline or optional white space.
342
343 .TP
344 [2addr] function-list
345 Execute function-list only when the pattern space is selected.
346
347 .TP
348 [1addr]a\e
349 .TP
350 text
351 Write
352 .IR text
353 to standard output immediately before each attempt to read a line of input,
354 whether by executing the
355 ``N''
356 function or by beginning a new cycle.
357
358 .TP
359 [2addr]b[label]
360 Branch to the
361 ``\&:''
362 function with the specified label.
363 If the label is not specified, branch to the end of the script.
364
365 .TP
366 [2addr]c\e
367 .TP
368 text
369 Delete the pattern space.
370 With 0 or 1 address or at the end of a 2-address range,
371 .IR text
372 is written to the standard output.
373
374 .TP
375 [2addr]d
376 Delete the pattern space and start the next cycle.
377
378 .TP
379 [2addr]D
380 Delete the initial segment of the pattern space through the first
381 newline character and start the next cycle.
382
383 .TP
384 [2addr]g
385 Replace the contents of the pattern space with the contents of the
386 hold space.
387
388 .TP
389 [2addr]G
390 Append a newline character followed by the contents of the hold space
391 to the pattern space.
392
393 .TP
394 [2addr]h
395 Replace the contents of the hold space with the contents of the
396 pattern space.
397
398 .TP
399 [2addr]H
400 Append a newline character followed by the contents of the pattern space
401 to the hold space.
402
403 .TP
404 [1addr]i\e
405 .TP
406 text
407 Write
408 .IR text
409 to the standard output.
410
411 .TP
412 [2addr]l
413 (The letter ell.)
414 Write the pattern space to the standard output in a visually unambiguous
415 form.
416 This form is as follows:
417
418 .TP
419 backslash
420 \e\e
421 .TP
422 alert
423 \ea
424 .TP
425 form-feed
426 \ef
427 .TP
428 carriage-return
429 \er
430 .TP
431 tab
432 \et
433 .TP
434 vertical tab
435 \ev
436
437 Nonprintable characters are written as three-digit octal numbers (with a
438 preceding backslash) for each byte in the character (most significant byte
439 first).
440 Long lines are folded, with the point of folding indicated by displaying
441 a backslash followed by a newline.
442 The end of each line is marked with a
443 ``$''.
444
445 .TP
446 [2addr]n
447 Write the pattern space to the standard output if the default output has
448 not been suppressed, and replace the pattern space with the next line of
449 input.
450
451 .TP
452 [2addr]N
453 Append the next line of input to the pattern space, using an embedded
454 newline character to separate the appended material from the original
455 contents.
456 Note that the current line number changes.
457
458 .TP
459 [2addr]p
460 Write the pattern space to standard output.
461
462 .TP
463 [2addr]P
464 Write the pattern space, up to the first newline character to the
465 standard output.
466
467 .TP
468 [1addr]q
469 Branch to the end of the script and quit without starting a new cycle.
470
471 .TP
472 [1addr]r file
473 Copy the contents of
474 .IR file
475 to the standard output immediately before the next attempt to read a
476 line of input.
477 If
478 .IR file
479 cannot be read for any reason, it is silently ignored and no error
480 condition is set.
481
482 .TP
483 [2addr]s/regular expression/replacement/flags
484 Substitute the replacement string for the first instance of the regular
485 expression in the pattern space.
486 Any character other than backslash or newline can be used instead of
487 a slash to delimit the RE and the replacement.
488 Within the RE and the replacement, the RE delimiter itself can be used as
489 a literal character if it is preceded by a backslash.
490
491 An ampersand
492 (``&'')
493 appearing in the replacement is replaced by the string matching the RE.
494 The special meaning of
495 ``&''
496 in this context can be suppressed by preceding it by a backslash.
497 The string
498 ``\e#'',
499 where
500 ``#''
501 is a digit, is replaced by the text matched
502 by the corresponding backreference expression (see
503 \fBregex\fP(5)) .
504
505 A line can be split by substituting a newline character into it.
506 To specify a newline character in the replacement string, precede it with
507 a backslash.
508
509 The value of
510 .IR flags
511 in the substitute function is zero or more of the following:
512 .TP
513 \fIN\fP
514 Make the substitution only for the
515 \fIN\fP'th
516 occurrence of the regular expression in the pattern space.
517 .TP
518 g
519 Make the substitution for all non-overlapping matches of the
520 regular expression, not just the first one.
521 .TP
522 p
523 Write the pattern space to standard output if a replacement was made.
524 If the replacement string is identical to that which it replaces, it
525 is still considered to have been a replacement.
526 .TP
527 w file
528 Append the pattern space to
529 .IR file
530 if a replacement was made.
531 If the replacement string is identical to that which it replaces, it
532 is still considered to have been a replacement.
533 .TP
534 I
535 Match the regular expression in a case-insensitive way.
536
537 .TP
538 [2addr]t [label]
539 Branch to the
540 ``\&:''
541 function bearing the label if any substitutions have been made since the
542 most recent reading of an input line or execution of a
543 ``t''
544 function.
545 If no label is specified, branch to the end of the script.
546
547 .TP
548 [2addr]w file
549 Append the pattern space to the
550 .IR file .
551
552 .TP
553 [2addr]x
554 Swap the contents of the pattern and hold spaces.
555
556 .TP
557 [2addr]y/string1/string2/
558 Replace all occurrences of characters in
559 .IR string1
560 in the pattern space with the corresponding characters from
561 .IR string2 .
562 Any character other than a backslash or newline can be used instead of
563 a slash to delimit the strings.
564 Within
565 .IR string1
566 and
567 .IR string2 ,
568 a backslash followed by any character other than a newline is that literal
569 character, and a backslash followed by an ``n'' is replaced by a newline
570 character.
571
572 .TP
573 [2addr]!function
574 .TP
575 [2addr]!function-list
576 Apply the function or function-list only to the lines that are
577 .IR not
578 selected by the address(es).
579
580 .TP
581 [0addr]:label
582 This function does nothing; it bears a label to which the
583 ``b''
584 and
585 ``t''
586 commands may branch.
587
588 .TP
589 [1addr]=
590 Write the line number to the standard output followed by a newline
591 character.
592
593 .TP
594 [0addr]
595 Empty lines are ignored.
596
597 .TP
598 [0addr]#
599 The
600 ``#''
601 and the remainder of the line are ignored (treated as a comment), with
602 the single exception that if the first two characters in the file are
603 ``#n'',
604 the default output is suppressed.
605 This is the same as specifying the
606 \fB\-n\fP
607 option on the command line.
608 .SH ENVIRONMENT
609 The
610 .IR COLUMNS , LANG , LC_ALL , LC_CTYPE
611 and
612 .IR LC_COLLATE
613 environment variables affect the execution of
614 \fBsed\fP
615 as described in
616 \fBenviron\fP(5).
617 .SH EXIT STATUS
618 The \fBsed\fP utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.
619 .SH SEE ALSO
620 \fBawk\fP(1),
621 \fBed\fP(1),
622 \fBgrep\fP(1),
623 \fBregex\fP(5)
624 .SH STANDARDS
625 The
626 \fBsed\fP
627 utility is expected to be a superset of the IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'')
628 specification.
629
630 The
631 \fB\-E\fP, I , a
632 and
633 \fB\-i\fP
634 options, the prefixing
635 ``\&+''
636 in the second member of an address range,
637 as well as the
638 ``I''
639 flag to the address regular expression and substitution command are
640 non-standard extensions and may not be available on other operating systems.
641 .SH HISTORY
642 A
643 \fBsed\fP
644 command, written by L. E. McMahon, appeared in Version 7 AT&T UNIX.
645 .SH AUTHORS
646
647 "Diomidis D. Spinellis" <dds@FreeBSD.org>
648 .SH BUGS
649 Multibyte characters containing a byte with value 0x5C (ASCII `\e')
650 may be incorrectly treated as line continuation characters in arguments to the
651 ``a'',
652 ``c''
653 and
654 ``i''
655 commands.
656 Multibyte characters cannot be used as delimiters with the
657 ``s''
658 and
659 ``y''
660 commands.