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Shell Programming: String Length: Text File

This document provides examples of string manipulation in shell scripts using Bash substring extraction operations and awk. It demonstrates how to get the length of a string, extract substrings, remove substrings, replace substrings, and compare strings using various Bash parameter expansion syntax and awk substring functions. Alternative methods for the same operations are shown using either Bash features or invoking awk from within the shell script.

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36 views

Shell Programming: String Length: Text File

This document provides examples of string manipulation in shell scripts using Bash substring extraction operations and awk. It demonstrates how to get the length of a string, extract substrings, remove substrings, replace substrings, and compare strings using various Bash parameter expansion syntax and awk substring functions. Alternative methods for the same operations are shown using either Bash features or invoking awk from within the shell script.

Uploaded by

Anonymous fNCfb7u8PJ
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Shell programming: String Length

${#string}
expr length $string
expr "$string" : '.*'
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
echo ${#stringZ}
echo `expr length $stringZ`
echo `expr "$stringZ" : '.*'`

# 15
# 15
# 15

Example 9-10. Inserting a blank line between paragraphs in a text file


#!/bin/bash
# paragraph-space.sh
# Inserts a blank line between paragraphs of a single-spaced text file.
# Usage: $0 <FILENAME
MINLEN=45
# May need to change this value.
# Assume lines shorter than $MINLEN characters
#+ terminate a paragraph.
while read line
do
echo "$line"

# For as many lines as the input file has...


# Output the line itself.

len=${#line}
if [ "$len" -lt "$MINLEN" ]
then echo
# Add a blank line after short line.
fi
done
exit 0

Length of Matching Substring at Beginning of String


expr match "$string" '$substring'
$substring is a regular expression.

expr "$string" : '$substring'


$substring is a regular expression.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
|------|
echo `expr match "$stringZ" 'abc[A-Z]*.2'`
echo `expr "$stringZ" : 'abc[A-Z]*.2'`

Index

# 8
# 8

expr index $string $substring


Numerical position in $string of first character in $substring that matches.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
echo `expr index "$stringZ" C12`
echo `expr index "$stringZ" 1c`
# 'c' (in #3 position) matches before '1'.

# 6
# C position.
# 3

This is the near equivalent of strchr() in C.


Substring Extraction
${string:position}
Extracts substring from $string at $position.
If the $string parameter is "*" or "@", then this extracts the positional
parameters, [1] starting at $position.
${string:position:length}
Extracts $length characters of substring from $string at $position.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
0123456789.....
#
0-based indexing.
echo ${stringZ:0}
echo ${stringZ:1}
echo ${stringZ:7}

# abcABC123ABCabc
# bcABC123ABCabc
# 23ABCabc

echo ${stringZ:7:3}

# 23A
# Three characters of

substring.

# Is it possible to index from the right end of the string?


echo ${stringZ:-4}
# abcABC123ABCabc
# Defaults to full string, as in ${parameter:-default}.
# However . . .
echo ${stringZ:(-4)}
# Cabc
echo ${stringZ: -4}
# Cabc
# Now, it works.
# Parentheses or added space "escape" the position parameter.
# Thank you, Dan Jacobson, for pointing this out.

If the $string parameter is "*" or "@", then this extracts a maximum


of $length positional parameters, starting at $position.
echo ${*:2}
parameters.
echo ${@:2}

# Echoes second and following positional

echo ${*:2:3}
second.

# Echoes three positional parameters, starting at

# Same as above.

expr substr $string $position $length


Extracts $length characters from $string starting at $position.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
123456789......
#
1-based indexing.
echo `expr substr $stringZ 1 2`
echo `expr substr $stringZ 4 3`

# ab
# ABC

expr match "$string" '\($substring\)'


Extracts $substring at beginning of $string, where $substring is a regular
expression.
expr "$string" : '\($substring\)'
Extracts $substring at beginning of $string, where $substring is a regular
expression.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
=======
echo `expr match "$stringZ" '\(.[b-c]*[A-Z]..[0-9]\)'`
echo `expr "$stringZ" : '\(.[b-c]*[A-Z]..[0-9]\)'`
echo `expr "$stringZ" : '\(.......\)'`
# All of the above forms give an identical result.

# abcABC1
# abcABC1
# abcABC1

expr match "$string" '.*\($substring\)'


Extracts $substring at end of $string, where $substring is a regular
expression.
expr "$string" : '.*\($substring\)'
Extracts $substring at end of $string, where $substring is a regular
expression.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
======
echo `expr match "$stringZ" '.*\([A-C][A-C][A-C][a-c]*\)'`
echo `expr "$stringZ" : '.*\(......\)'`

# ABCabc
# ABCabc

Substring Removal
${string#substring}
Strips shortest match of $substring from front of $string.
${string##substring}
Strips longest match of $substring from front of $string.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
|----|
#
|----------|
echo ${stringZ#a*C}
# 123ABCabc
# Strip out shortest match between 'a' and 'C'.
echo ${stringZ##a*C}
# abc
# Strip out longest match between 'a' and 'C'.

${string%substring}
Strips shortest match of $substring from back of $string.
${string%%substring}
Strips longest match of $substring from back of $string.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
#
||
#
|------------|
echo ${stringZ%b*c}
# abcABC123ABCa
# Strip out shortest match between 'b' and 'c', from back of $stringZ.
echo ${stringZ%%b*c}
# a
# Strip out longest match between 'b' and 'c', from back of $stringZ.

Example 9-11. Converting graphic file formats, with filename change


#!/bin/bash
# cvt.sh:
# Converts all the MacPaint image files in a directory to "pbm"
format.
# Uses the "macptopbm" binary from the "netpbm" package,
#+ which is maintained by Brian Henderson (bryanh@giraffe-data.com).
# Netpbm is a standard part of most Linux distros.
OPERATION=macptopbm
SUFFIX=pbm
# New filename suffix.
if [ -n "$1" ]

then
directory=$1
else
directory=$PWD
fi

# If directory name given as a script argument...


# Otherwise use current working directory.

# Assumes all files in the target directory are MacPaint image files,
#+ with a ".mac" filename suffix.
for file in $directory/*
do
filename=${file%.*c}

# Filename globbing.

# Strip ".mac" suffix off filename


#+ ('.*c' matches everything
#+ between '.' and 'c', inclusive).
$OPERATION $file > "$filename.$SUFFIX"
# Redirect conversion to new filename.
rm -f $file
# Delete original files after converting.
echo "$filename.$SUFFIX" # Log what is happening to stdout.
done
exit 0
# Exercise:
# -------# As it stands, this script converts *all* the files in the current
#+ working directory.
# Modify it to work *only* on files with a ".mac" suffix.

A simple emulation of getopt using substring extraction constructs.


Example 9-12. Emulating getopt
#!/bin/bash
# getopt-simple.sh
# Author: Chris Morgan
# Used in the ABS Guide with permission.
getopt_simple()
{
echo "getopt_simple()"
echo "Parameters are '$*'"
until [ -z "$1" ]
do
echo "Processing parameter of: '$1'"
if [ ${1:0:1} = '/' ]
then
tmp=${1:1}
# Strip off leading '/' . . .
parameter=${tmp%%=*}
# Extract name.
value=${tmp##*=}
# Extract value.
echo "Parameter: '$parameter', value: '$value'"
eval $parameter=$value
fi
shift
done

}
# Pass all options to getopt_simple().
getopt_simple $*
echo "test is '$test'"
echo "test2 is '$test2'"
exit 0
--sh getopt_example.sh /test=value1 /test2=value2
Parameters are '/test=value1 /test2=value2'
Processing parameter of: '/test=value1'
Parameter: 'test', value: 'value1'
Processing parameter of: '/test2=value2'
Parameter: 'test2', value: 'value2'
test is 'value1'
test2 is 'value2'

Substring Replacement
${string/substring/replacement}
Replace first match of $substring with $replacement.
${string//substring/replacement}
Replace all matches of $substring with $replacement.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc
echo ${stringZ/abc/xyz}
'xyz'.
echo ${stringZ//abc/xyz}
# 'xyz'.
${string/#substring/replacement}

# xyzABC123ABCabc
# Replaces first match of 'abc' with
# xyzABC123ABCxyz
# Replaces all matches of 'abc' with

If $substring matches front end of $string,


substitute $replacement for $substring.
${string/%substring/replacement}
If $substring matches back end of $string,
substitute $replacement for $substring.
stringZ=abcABC123ABCabc

echo ${stringZ/#abc/XYZ}

# XYZABC123ABCabc
# Replaces front-end match of 'abc'

with 'XYZ'.
echo ${stringZ/%abc/XYZ}

# abcABC123ABCXYZ
# Replaces back-end match of 'abc'

with 'XYZ'.

9.2.1. Manipulating strings using awk


A Bash script may invoke the string manipulation facilities of awk as an alternative to
using its built-in operations.
Example 9-13. Alternate ways of extracting substrings
#!/bin/bash
# substring-extraction.sh
String=23skidoo1
#
012345678
Bash
#
123456789
awk
# Note different string indexing system:
# Bash numbers first character of string as '0'.
# Awk numbers first character of string as '1'.
echo ${String:2:4} # position 3 (0-1-2), 4 characters long
# skid
# The awk equivalent of ${string:pos:length} is substr(string,pos,length).
echo | awk '
{ print substr("'"${String}"'",3,4)
# skid
}
'
# Piping an empty "echo" to awk gives it dummy input,
#+ and thus makes it unnecessary to supply a filename.
exit 0

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