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moata_u
Asked: 2011-03-03 23:29:51 +0800 CST

Sed problem in a Bash script

  • 772

I'm having a problem using the sed command . I'm trying to write a bash script that does the following :

  1. search for the line that contain :@
  2. then save the line that contained :@ and replace it with new line

as in the following:

#! /bin/bash

echo "Please enter the ip address of you file"
read ipnumber
find=`grep ':@' application.properties` # find the line
input="connection.url=jdbc\racle\:thin\:@$ipnumber\:1521\:billz" # preparing new line
echo `sed "s/'${find}'/'${input}'/g" application.properties` # replace old with new line

The problem is: nothing happens.

I've already tried to use "${find}" instead of '${find}'

command-line

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    There are several problems with that snippet. I recommend you learn bash's syntax a little better before writing scripts in it.

    Anyway, if you want to edit a file, you want a file editor. sed is not a file editor. I believe this will do what you want.

    #!/bin/bash

read -p "Enter the ip address: " ipnumber

ed -s application.properties << EOF
/:@/c
connection.url=jdbc:oracle:thin:@$ipnumber:1521:billz
.
w
EOF

    What that ed script says is: /:@/c - on the first line containing :@, change the line with everything following until a line containing only a .. Then w to write the changes to the file.

    See http://wiki.bash-hackers.org/doku.php?id=howto:edit-ed for help with editing using ed, and http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashGuide to learn bash.

    Update:
    sed can be used to achieve the same, but it can't edit files, it can only be used to create a new file.

    # POSIX
sed "/:@/c\
connection.url=jdbc:oracle:thin:@$ipnumber:1521:billz" application.properties

    Here sed will output the file with the changes applied. You can redirect to a new file, then move that file over the old one. GNU sed also has a non-standard -i option that does the last part transparently. GNU sed also doesn't require you to have that newline in the sed script.

    # GNU sed
sed -i "/:@/c connection.url=jdbc:oracle:thin:@$ipnumber:1521:billz" application.properties

    Note that the ed will only replace the first line that matches the regex while sed will replace all lines matching that regex.

    • 6

  2. my problem was : i was using an variable name (value) ,, which is reserved :))
    Solution is :

    #!/bin/bash

read -p "Please Enter The ip address : " ipnum 
find=`grep ":@" application.properties`
test="connection.url=jdbc:oracle:thin:@$ipnum:1521:e"
sed -i "s/"$find"/"$test"/g" application.properties

    THANKS geirha

    • -1