[SOLVED] How to make a single change to multiple files

linuxuser06 · 05-12-2016, 03:02 AM

I have to make a single change to 250 files under same directory.
All the 250 lines are sh files which contain a version number. I have to update this version number in all 250 files.

Can sed command be used to do it in a shot or do I need to write a script for this?

Please help.

OS : Linux- RHEL 7

Thanks in advance.

pan64 · 05-12-2016, 03:36 AM

sed itself can do the change and you need to write a loop on the list of files you have

linuxuser06 · 05-12-2016, 03:52 AM

So the following command should work?

sed -i 's/5.9/5.10/g' filename

Can you please help me with the loop part?

syg00 · 05-12-2016, 03:55 AM

"filename" can be a glob.
Create a test directory with a few files. Easy to test and make sure you don't change things you didn't mean to.

HMW · 05-12-2016, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxuser06

Can you please help me with the loop part?

Look here for instance (example 5):
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2011/07/...loop-examples/

Turbocapitalist · 05-12-2016, 05:04 AM

sed is good. perl works too. You can also do it with a perl one-liner:

Code:

perl -pi.orig -e 's/old/new/' *.txt

That swaps 'old' for 'new' in all files with a name ending with .txt in the current directory, and makes backup copies of the unchanged originals by appending .orig to the name.

s/// takes all the arguments that perl supports and can be written as s||| or s### if you need to use slashes.

grail · 05-12-2016, 09:44 AM

You need to be cautious with your current regex as it will match more than intended:

Code:

5.9
will match
5.9
519
5a9
5B9
5&9
...

So if you have any character between a 5 and a 9 elsewhere in your files you will get more changes than required.

Try to look to see what makes the line unique, like does the line contain the word 'version' (capitalised or otherwise).