how to pass this as a variable

dinakumar12 · 01-16-2012, 07:01 AM

Hi all,

Assume that i am having the below

"/*
* ProGuard -- shrinking, optimization, obfuscation, and preverification
* of Java bytecode.
*
* Copyright (c) 2002-2011 Eric Lafortune (eric@graphics.cornell.edu)
*
* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
* under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
* Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
* any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
* ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
* more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
* with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
* 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
*/"

I just want all these in to a single variable.Your suggestions please.

Thanks in advance,
Dinesh.

angel115 · 01-16-2012, 07:08 AM

If you are using bash you can do this:

Code:

#!/bin/bash

VAR='/*
* ProGuard -- shrinking, optimization, obfuscation, and preverification
* of Java bytecode.
*
* Copyright (c) 2002-2011 Eric Lafortune (eric@graphics.cornell.edu)
*
* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
* under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
* Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
* any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
* ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
* more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
* with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
* 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
*/'

echo $VAR

dinakumar12 · 01-16-2012, 07:17 AM

Hi,

But this didn't work for me.

while doing echo i am geeting the files of / directory.

druuna · 01-16-2012, 07:22 AM

Hi,

The echo statement needs double quotes.

Code:

echo "$VAR"

Hope this helps.

dinakumar12 · 01-16-2012, 07:52 AM

Hi Thanks,

That works. I want this variable to be inserted at the top of a file.

I tried using sed -i 1i\"$VAR" file

But this does not work.At present i am trying to use this varaiable in sed.Your suggestions also would be helpful and ofcourse i am trying from my side as well.

angel115 · 01-16-2012, 07:52 AM

Sorry, I've forgot the quote.

druuna · 01-16-2012, 08:29 AM

Hi,

I'm not sure if this can be done using sed and a variable that holds multiple lines.

Here's an alternative:

Code:

echo "$VAR" | cat - file > /tmp/outfile && mv /tmp/outfile file

Hope this helps.

dinakumar12 · 01-16-2012, 09:03 AM

Thanks druna,

But will this create any problem for files which contains large number of lines.

cbtshare · 01-16-2012, 09:10 AM

This one liner works just fine when using sed

Quote:

sed -e "1 i \ $VAR" file

druuna · 01-16-2012, 09:14 AM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinakumar12

But will this create any problem for files which contains large number of lines.

Not likely. It might get problematic if the file is several gigabytes large and you don't have sufficient memory (incl. swap).

Hope this helps.

@cbtshare: Doesn't work on my side:

Code:

$ sed -e "1 i \ $VAR" file
sed: -e expression #1, char 10: unknown command: `*'

cbtshare · 01-16-2012, 09:19 AM

what version of sed do you have?

dinakumar12 · 01-16-2012, 09:19 AM

oh,

Thanks druna,but sed needs to have some sort of option right or whether it is possible through awk.

@cbtshare,

My sed version is 4.1.5.

---------- Post added 01-16-12 at 08:50 PM ----------

cbtshare · 01-16-2012, 09:24 AM

I have :GNU sed version 4.2.1

So if doesnt work

Quote:

sed -e "1 i \ $VAR" file

try escaping the space dinakumar12 so use \\

druuna · 01-16-2012, 09:34 AM

@cbtshare: Tried it with these versions:

Code:

$ sed --version
GNU sed version 4.1.5

$ sed --version
GNU sed version 4.2.1

And both fail with the same error (from a script and from the command line).

Did you try with a dummy variable or one filled with the above content?

cbtshare · 01-16-2012, 09:41 AM

tried it at the command line, by entering random text to fill VAR:

Code:

[root@server1 Desktop]# sed -e "1 i \ $VAR" hello.txt
 SFSDSDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDSDFGDGHGFHFGHFFFFFFFFFFFFFFH45555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555
two