Removing double quotes and trailing blanks via sed and getting unterminated `s' comma

rubster · 10-18-2012, 07:16 PM

How to convert all occurrences of schema "BLUES " (which has three, in this case, trailing blanks)to BLUES, so no trailing blanks nor double quotes.
I have set a variable
sed='sed 's/"EMPDW[ ]*"/EMPDW/g''
So if I issue
cat filename | $sed
I get:
sed: -e expression #1, char 8: unterminated `s' command
cat: write error [Broken pipe]

I don't know if it's a Linux thing or what.
I have set -x on at the clp.
If I issue
cat filename | sed 's/"EMPDW[ ]*"/EMPDW/g'
+ 's/"EMPDW[ ]*"/EMPDW/g'
-ksh: s/"EMPDW[ ]*"/EMPDW/g: cannot execute

-ksh: cat: write error [Broken pipe]

I just am looking for a workable solution.
Thanks in advance.

pixellany · 10-18-2012, 07:33 PM

I think you are making things overly complicated.

First, one does not normally run command strings by putting them into a variable. Assuming that it is possible to get it working in that way---I recommend saving it until you get your basic SED command working.

Second, your SED command does not seem to have anything to do with the problem statement. You said:

Quote:

convert all occurrences of schema "BLUES " (which has three, in this case, trailing blanks)to BLUES, so no trailing blanks nor double quotes.

I would think something like this (file BLU created to test):

Code:

[mherring@herring_desk play]$ more BLU
"BLUES "abc
"BLUES  "abc
"BLUES   "abc
BLUES    xyz
BLUES abc
"BLUES  fgh"
[mherring@herring_desk play]$ sed 's/\"BLUES *\"/BLUES/g' BLU
BLUESabc
BLUESabc
BLUESabc
BLUES    xyz
BLUES abc
"BLUES  fgh"

rubster · 10-18-2012, 07:48 PM

The reason for the variable is that it will be in a ksh script.

rubster · 10-18-2012, 08:09 PM

However, when I substituted BLUES with ${schema} , the command made NO changes. Since this is in a ksh script and ${schema} is unknown, this is my dilemma.

grail · 10-19-2012, 02:17 AM

I think we are at odds with information here.

1. pixellany's reference to a command in a variable was the following line:

Code:

sed='sed 's/"EMPDW[ ]*"/EMPDW/g''

Which does not matter what shell you are in, this is not required.

2. When using a variable in sed you need to have the variable in, at most, double quotes as in single quotes it will not be interpreted.

So assuming I am following correctly, something like the following should work:

Code:

schema=BLUES

sed -r "s/\"($schema) *\"/\1/g" filename

rubster · 10-19-2012, 11:55 AM

I've tried the above suggestions without getting desired success.

When I issue a
sed='sed 's/"$schema[ ]*"/$schema/g''
cat filename | $sed
or
cat filename | eval $sed

I get the following:
sed: -e expression #1, char 8: unterminated `s' command and
cat: write error [Broken pipe]

What's strange is that if I vi the file and issue
:%s/"EMPDW " /EMPDW/g

the task gets done. So what's going on with sed?

rknichols · 10-19-2012, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubster

When I issue a
sed='sed 's/"$schema[ ]*"/$schema/g''
cat filename | $sed
or
cat filename | eval $sed

I get the following:
sed: -e expression #1, char 8: unterminated `s' command and
cat: write error [Broken pipe]

What happens is that after doing the substitution for $sed, the shell next does word splitting, and what you intended as a single argument gets split into two separate arguments: 's/EMPDW[' and ']*/EMPDW/g'. The first of those is an unterminated 's' command.

It is very difficult to use shell variables to store complete commands because the line gets parsed multiple times, and getting the quoting and word splitting right can be next to impossible. Use a shell function to hold your command.

Code:

do_sed() {
sed "s/\"$1[ ]*\"/$1/g"
}
.
.
.
cat filename | do_sed $schema
    # or, avoiding a pointless use of cat
do_sed $schema <filename