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bash: concatenating the output of multiple commands without using temp files

I keep running into the problem of trying to concatenate the output of multiple commands in order to pipe them to the next filter. It seems as though it must be trivial, but I cannot seem to find a solution.

Here's a real-world example:

Code:

#!/bin/bash



TEMPFILE=/var/tmp/watchmcs.$$

COLUMNS=$(tput cols)

LINES=$(($(tput lines)-3)); 



tail -n 50 /home/minecraft/server.log \

|        sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[twopro\]\2/' \

|        cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS >$TEMPFILE

tail -n 50 /home/mcjosh/server.log \

|        sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[joshop\]\2/' \

|        cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS >>$TEMPFILE

tail -n 50 /home/joshop/server.log \

|        sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[longho\]\2/' \

|        cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS >>$TEMPFILE

tail -n 50 /home/survival/server.log \

|        sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[surviv\]\2/' \

|        cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS >>$TEMPFILE



sort <$TEMPFILE \

|        tail --lines=$LINES

I should be able to accomplish this without using a temporary file, which seems inefficient and inelegant. Ultimately, it seems to require something like:

Code:

/bin/firstcommand | cat - $(/bin/secondcommand) | /bin/nextfilter

Except that the above (unsurprisingly) causes cat to see the output of secondcommand as command line parameters instead of file content.

Any suggestions? Thanks...

--Ron

This kind of task is accomplished by means of process substitution. In this case the output of a command is seen as a file, since process substitution uses a file descriptor. Example:

Code:

#!/bin/bash



TEMPFILE=/var/tmp/watchmcs.$$

COLUMNS=$(tput cols)

LINES=$(($(tput lines)-3)); 





sort \

  <(tail -n 50 /home/minecraft/server.log |

  sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[twopro\]\2/' |

  cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS) \

  <(tail -n 50 /home/mcjosh/server.log |

  sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[joshop\]\2/' |

  cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS) \

  <(tail -n 50 /home/joshop/server.log |

  sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[longho\]\2/' |

  cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS) \

  <(tail -n 50 /home/survival/server.log |

  sed 's/\(^....................\)\[[A-Z]*\]\(.*\)/\1\[surviv\]\2/' |

  cut --characters=1-$COLUMNS) |

  tail --lines=$LINES

Hope this helps.

More generally, it's possible to use either a subshell or command grouping, and redirect the output of the whole group at once.

Code:

( command1 ; command2 ; command3 ) | cat



{ command1 ; command2 ; command3 ; } > outfile.txt

The main difference between the two is that the first one splits of a child process, while the second one operates in the context of the main shell. This can have consequences regarding the setting and use of variables and other environment settings, as well as performance.

Don't forget that the closing bracket in command grouping (and functions) must be separated from the contents by either a semicolon or a newline. This is because "}" is actually a command (keyword) of its own, and must be treated like one.

Thank you, and thank you. Obvious now that I see it, but it has plagued me for years.