SunOS man pages : sed (1)
User Commands 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
Sed is a stream editor. A stream editor is used to perform
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 ed), sed works
by making only one pass over the input(s), and is conse-
quently more efficient. But it is sed's ability to filter
text in a pipeline which particularly distinguishes it from
other types of editors.
OPTIONS
Sed 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, sed will print out the pattern space at the
end of each cycle through the script. These options
disable this automatic printing, and sed will only pro-
duce output when explicitly told to via the p command.
-e script
--expression=script
Add the commands in script to the set of commands to be
run while processing the input.
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User Commands SED(1)
-f script-file
--file=script-file
Add the commands contained in the file script-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 com-
mand line is taken to be the script 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 processed if
no file names are specified.
Command Synopsis This is just a brief synopsis of sed com-
mands to serve as a reminder to those who already know sed;
other documentation (such as the texinfo document) must be
consulted for fuller descriptions.
Zero-address ``commands''
: label
Label for b and t commands.
#comment
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 \
text Append text, which has each embedded newline preceeded
by a backslash.
i \
text Insert text, which has each embedded newline preceeded
by a backslash.
q Immediately quit the sed script without processing any
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User Commands SED(1)
more input, except that if auto-print is not diabled
the current pattern space will be printed.
r filename
Append text read from filename.
Commands which accept address ranges
{ Begin a block of commands (end with a }).
b label
Branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to end of
script.
t label
If a s/// has done a successful substitution since the
last input line was read and since the last t command,
then branch to label; if label is omitted, branch to
end of script.
c \
text Replace the selected lines with text, 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 pattern
space. Start next cycle, but skip reading from the
input if there is still data in the pattern 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 unambiguous''
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 current
pattern space.
s/regexp/replacement/
Attempt to match regexp against the pattern space. If
successful, replace that portion matched with
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User Commands SED(1)
replacement. The replacement may contain the special
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 regexp.
w filename Write the current pattern space to filename.
y/source/dest/
Transliterate the characters in the pattern space which
appear in source to the corresponding character in
dest.
Addresses Sed 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 second
address. Three things to note about address ranges: the
syntax is addr1,addr2 (i.e., the addresses are separated by
a comma); the line which addr1 matched will always be
accepted, even if addr2 selects an earlier line; and if
addr2 is a regexp, it will not be tested against the line
that addr1 matched.
After the address (or address-range), and before the com-
mand, a ! may be inserted, which specifies that the command
shall only be executed if the address (or address-range)
does not match.
The following address types are supported:
number
Match only the specified line number.
first~step
Match every step'th line starting with line first. 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.
/regexp/
Match lines matching the regular expression regexp.
\cregexpc
Match lines matching the regular expression regexp.
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User Commands SED(1)
The c may be any character.
Regular expressions POSIX.2 BREs should be supported, but
they aren't completely 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 \<new-
line> sequence in all regular expressions, the replacement
part of a substitute (s) command, and in the source and dest
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 ought to be written... XXX],
sed.info, any of various books on sed, the sed 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.
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