NAME
sseedd - stream editor
SYNOPSIS
sseedd [-EEaann] command [file ...]
sseedd [-EEaann] [-ee command] [-ff commandfile] [-ii extension] [file ...]
DESCRIPTION
The sseedd utility reads the specified files, or the standard input if nofiles are specified, modifying the input as specified by a list of com-
mands. The input is then written to the standard output. A single command may be specified as the first argument to sseedd. Multiplecommands may be specified by using the -ee or -ff options. All commands
are applied to the input in the order they are specified regardless of their origin. The following options are available:-EE Interpret regular expressions as extended (modern) regular
expressions rather than basic regular expressions (BRE's). The reformat(7) manual page fully describes both formats.-aa The files listed as parameters for the ``w'' functions are cre-
ated (or truncated) before any processing begins, by default.The -aa option causes sseedd to delay opening each file until a com-
mand containing the related ``w'' function is applied to a line of input.-ee command
Append the editing commands specified by the command argument to the list of commands.-ff commandfile
Append the editing commands found in the file commandfile to the list of commands. The editing commands should each be listed on a separate line.-ii extension
Edit files in-place, saving backups with the specified extension.
If a zero-length extension is given, no backup will be saved. It
is not recommended to give a zero-length extension when in-place
editing files, as you risk corruption or partial content in situ-
ations where disk space is exhausted, etc.-nn By default, each line of input is echoed to the standard output
after all of the commands have been applied to it. The -nn option
suppresses this behavior. The form of a sseedd command is as follows: [address[,address]]function[arguments]Whitespace may be inserted before the first address and the function por-
tions of the command.Normally, sseedd cyclically copies a line of input, not including its termi-
nating newline character, into a pattern space, (unless there is some-
thing left after a ``D'' function), applies all of the commands with addresses that select that pattern space, copies the pattern space to the standard output, appending a newline, and deletes the pattern space. Some of the functions use a hold space to save all or part of the pattern space for subsequent retrieval. SSeedd AAddddrreesssseess An address is not required, but if specified must be a number (thatcounts input lines cumulatively across input files), a dollar (``$'')
character that addresses the last line of input, or a context address(which consists of a regular expression preceded and followed by a delim-
iter). A command line with no addresses selects every pattern space. A command line with one address selects all of the pattern spaces that match the address. A command line with two addresses selects an inclusive range. This range starts with the first pattern space that matches the first address. The end of the range is the next following pattern space that matches the second address. If the second address is a number less than or equal to the line number first selected, only that line is selected. In the casewhen the second address is a context address, sseedd does not re-match the
second address against the pattern space that matched the first address.Starting at the first line following the selected range, sseedd starts look-
ing again for the first address.Editing commands can be applied to non-selected pattern spaces by use of
the exclamation character (``!'') function. SSeedd RReegguullaarr EExxpprreessssiioonnssThe regular expressions used in sseedd, by default, are basic regular
expressions (BREs, see reformat(7) for more information), but extended(modern) regular expressions can be used instead if the -EE flag is given.
In addition, sseedd has the following two additions to regular expressions: 1. In a context address, any character other than a backslash (``\'')or newline character may be used to delimit the regular expression.
Also, putting a backslash character before the delimiting character causes the character to be treated literally. For example, in the context address \xabc\xdefx, the RE delimiter is an ``x'' and the second ``x'' stands for itself, so that the regular expression is ``abcxdef''. 2. The escape sequence \n matches a newline character embedded in the pattern space. You can't, however, use a literal newline character in an address or in the substitute command. One special feature of sseedd regular expressions is that they can defaultto the last regular expression used. If a regular expression is empty,
i.e., just the delimiter characters are specified, the last regularexpression encountered is used instead. The last regular expression is
defined as the last regular expression used as part of an address or sub-
stitute command, and at run-time, not compile-time. For example, the
command ``/abc/s//XXX/'' will substitute ``XXX'' for the pattern ``abc''. SSeedd FFuunnccttiioonnss In the following list of commands, the maximum number of permissible addresses for each command is indicated by [0addr], [1addr], or [2addr], representing zero, one, or two addresses. The argument text consists of one or more lines. To embed a newline in the text, precede it with a backslash. Other backslashes in text are deleted and the following character taken literally. The ``r'' and ``w'' functions take an optional file parameter, which should be separated from the function letter by white space. Each file given as an argument to sseedd is created (or its contents truncated) before any input processing begins. The ``b'', ``r'', ``s'', ``t'', ``w'', ``y'', ``!'', and ``:'' functions all accept additional arguments. The following synopses indicate which arguments have to be separated from the function letters by white space characters.Two of the functions take a function-list. This is a list of sseedd func-
tions separated by newlines, as follows: { function function ... function } The ``{'' can be preceded by white space and can be followed by white space. The function can be preceded by white space. The terminating ``}'' must be preceded by a newline or optional white space.[2addr] function-list
Execute function-list only when the pattern space is selected.
[1addr]a\ text Write text to standard output immediately before each attempt to read a line of input, whether by executing the ``N'' function or by beginning a new cycle. [2addr]b[label] Branch to the ``:'' function with the specified label. If the label is not specified, branch to the end of the script. [2addr]c\ text Delete the pattern space. With 0 or 1 address or at the end of a2-address range, text is written to the standard output.
[2addr]d Delete the pattern space and start the next cycle. [2addr]D Delete the initial segment of the pattern space through the first newline character and start the next cycle. [2addr]g Replace the contents of the pattern space with the contents of the hold space. [2addr]G Append a newline character followed by the contents of the hold space to the pattern space. [2addr]h Replace the contents of the hold space with the contents of the pattern space. [2addr]HAppend a newline character followed by the contents of the pat-
tern space to the hold space. [1addr]i\ text Write text to the standard output. [2addr]l (The letter ell.) Write the pattern space to the standard output in a visually unambiguous form. This form is as follows: backslash \\ alert \aform-feed \f
carriage-return \r
tab \t vertical tab \vNonprintable characters are written as three-digit octal numbers
(with a preceding backslash) for each byte in the character (most significant byte first). Long lines are folded, with the pointof folding indicated by displaying a backslash followed by a new-
line. The end of each line is marked with a ``$''.
[2addr]n Write the pattern space to the standard output if the defaultoutput has not been suppressed, and replace the pattern space
with the next line of input. [2addr]N Append the next line of input to the pattern space, using an embedded newline character to separate the appended material from the original contents. Note that the current line number changes. [2addr]p Write the pattern space to standard output. [2addr]P Write the pattern space, up to the first newline character to the standard output. [1addr]q Branch to the end of the script and quit without starting a new cycle. [1addr]r file Copy the contents of file to the standard output immediately before the next attempt to read a line of input. If file cannotbe read for any reason, it is silently ignored and no error con-
dition is set. [2addr]s/regular expression/replacement/flags Substitute the replacement string for the first instance of the regular expression in the pattern space. Any character otherthan backslash or newline can be used instead of a slash to
delimit the RE and the replacement. Within the RE and thereplacement, the RE delimiter itself can be used as a literal
character if it is preceded by a backslash. An ampersand (``&'') appearing in the replacement is replaced by the string matching the RE. The special meaning of ``&'' in thiscontext can be suppressed by preceding it by a backslash. The
string ``\#'', where ``#'' is a digit, is replaced by the text
matched by the corresponding backreference expression (see reformat(7)). A line can be split by substituting a newline character into it. To specify a newline character in the replacement string, precede it with a backslash. The value of flags in the substitute function is zero or more of the following: N Make the substitution only for the N'th occurrence of the regular expression in the pattern space.g Make the substitution for all non-overlapping
matches of the regular expression, not just the first one. p Write the pattern space to standard output if a replacement was made. If the replacement string is identical to that which it replaces, it is still considered to have been a replacement. w file Append the pattern space to file if a replacement was made. If the replacement string is identical to that which it replaces, it is still considered to have been a replacement. [2addr]t [label]Branch to the ``:'' function bearing the label if any substitu-
tions have been made since the most recent reading of an input line or execution of a ``t'' function. If no label is specified, branch to the end of the script. [2addr]w file Append the pattern space to the file. [2addr]x Swap the contents of the pattern and hold spaces. [2addr]y/string1/string2/ Replace all occurrences of characters in string1 in the patternspace with the corresponding characters from string2. Any char-
acter other than a backslash or newline can be used instead of a
slash to delimit the strings. Within string1 and string2, a backslash followed by any character other than a newline is that literal character, and a backslash followed by an ``n'' is replaced by a newline character. [2addr]!function[2addr]!function-list
Apply the function or function-list only to the lines that are
not selected by the address(es). [0addr]:label This function does nothing; it bears a label to which the ``b'' and ``t'' commands may branch. [1addr]=Write the line number to the standard output followed by a new-
line character. [0addr] Empty lines are ignored.[0addr]#
The ``#'' and the remainder of the line are ignored (treated as a
comment), with the single exception that if the first two charac-
ters in the file are ``#n'', the default output is suppressed.
This is the same as specifying the -nn option on the command line.
ENVIRONMENT The COLUMNS, LANG, LCALL, LCCTYPE and LCCOLLATE environment variables affect the execution of sseedd as described in environ(7). DIAGNOSTICS The sseedd utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs.SEE ALSO
awk(1), ed(1), grep(1), regex(3), reformat(7) STANDARDS The sseedd utility is expected to be a superset of the IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') specification.The -EE, -aa and -ii options are non-standard FreeBSD extensions and may not
be available on other operating systems. HISTORY A sseedd command, written by L. E. McMahon, appeared in Version 7 AT&T UNIX. AUTHORS Diomidis D. SpinellisBSD July 17, 2004 BSD