SED -- A Non-interactive Text Editor                     USD:18-1

              SED -- A Non-interactive Text Editor

                         Lee E. McMahon

                     AT&T Bell Laboratories
                  Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974

                            ABSTRACT

          Sed  is a non-interactive context editor that runs
     on the UNIX operating system.  Sed is  designed  to  be
     especially useful in three cases:

          1)  To edit files too large for comfortable inter-
               active editing;
          2) To edit any size  file  when  the  sequence  of
               editing  commands  is  too  complicated to be
               comfortably typed in interactive mode.
          3) To perform multiple `global' editing  functions
               efficiently in one pass through the input.

     This  memorandum constitutes a manual for users of sed.

Introduction

Sed is a non-interactive context editor designed to be especially
useful in three cases:

     1) To edit files too large for comfortable interactive edit-
          ing;
     2) To edit any size file when the sequence of  editing  com-
          mands  is  too  complicated  to be comfortably typed in
          interactive mode;
     3) To perform  multiple  `global'  editing  functions  effi-
          ciently in one pass through the input.

Since  only  a few lines of the input reside in core at one time,
and no temporary files are used, the effective size of file  that
can  be  edited is limited only by the requirement that the input
and output fit simultaneously into available secondary storage.

Complicated editing scripts can be created separately  and  given
_________________________
 UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.

to  sed as a command file.  For complex edits, this saves consid-
erable typing, and its attendant errors.  Sed running from a com-
mand  file  is  much  more  efficient than any interactive editor
known to the author, even if that editor can be driven by a  pre-
written script.

The principal loss of functions compared to an interactive editor
are lack of relative addressing (because  of  the  line-at-a-time
operation), and lack of immediate verification that a command has
done what was intended.

Sed is a lineal descendant of the UNIX editor,  ed.   Because  of
the  differences  between  interactive and non-interactive opera-
tion, considerable changes have been made  between  ed  and  sed;
even  confirmed  users  of  ed  will frequently be surprised (and
probably chagrined), if they rashly use sed without reading  Sec-
tions  2 and 3 of this document.  The most striking family resem-
blance between the two editors is in the class of patterns (`reg-
ular expressions') they recognize; the code for matching patterns
is copied almost verbatim from the code for ed, and the  descrip-
tion  of regular expressions in Section 2 is copied almost verba-
tim from the UNIX Programmer's Manual[1]. (Both code and descrip-
tion were written by Dennis M. Ritchie.)

1. Overall Operation

Sed  by default copies the standard input to the standard output,
perhaps performing one or more  editing  commands  on  each  line
before  writing  it to the output.  This behavior may be modified
by flags on the command line; see Section 1.1 below.

The general format of an editing command is:

          [address1,address2][function][arguments]

One or both addresses may be omitted; the format of addresses  is
given  in  Section  2.  Any number of blanks or tabs may separate
the addresses from the function.  The function must  be  present;
the available commands are discussed in Section 3.  The arguments
may be required or  optional,  according  to  which  function  is
given; again, they are discussed in Section 3 under each individ-
ual function.

Tab characters and spaces at the beginning of lines are  ignored.

1.1. Command-line Flags

Three flags are recognized on the command line:
     -n:  tells  sed not to copy all lines, but only those speci-
          fied by p functions or p flags after s  functions  (see
          Section 3.3);
     -e:  tells  sed  to  take  the  next  argument as an editing
          command;
     -f: tells sed to take the next argument as a file name;  the
          file should contain editing commands, one to a line.

1.2. Order of Application of Editing Commands

Before  any  editing  is  done (in fact, before any input file is
even opened), all the editing commands are compiled into  a  form
which  will  be  moderately  efficient during the execution phase
(when the commands are actually applied to  lines  of  the  input
file).   The commands are compiled in the order in which they are
encountered; this is generally the order in which  they  will  be
attempted  at  execution time.  The commands are applied one at a
time; the input to each command is the output  of  all  preceding
commands.

The  default  linear order of application of editing commands can
be changed by the flow-of-control commands, t and b (see  Section
3).   Even when the order of application is changed by these com-
mands, it is still true that the input line to any command is the
output of any previously applied command.

1.3.  Pattern-space

The  range of pattern matches is called the pattern space.  Ordi-
narily, the pattern space is one line of the input text, but more
than  one  line can be read into the pattern space by using the N
command (Section 3.6.).

1.4. Examples

Examples are scattered throughout the text.  Except where  other-
wise noted, the examples all assume the following input text:

     In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
     A stately pleasure dome decree:
     Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
     Through caverns measureless to man
     Down to a sunless sea.

(In no case is the output of the sed commands to be considered an
improvement on Coleridge.)

Example:

The command

     2q

will quit after copying the first two lines of  the  input.   The
output will be:

     In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
     A stately pleasure dome decree:

2. ADDRESSES: Selecting lines for editing

Lines  in  the  input file(s) to which editing commands are to be
applied can be selected by addresses.  Addresses  may  be  either
line numbers or context addresses.

The  application  of a group of commands can be controlled by one
address (or address-pair) by grouping  the  commands  with  curly
braces (`{ }')(Sec. 3.6.).

2.1. Line-number Addresses

A  line  number  is a decimal integer.  As each line is read from
the input, a line-number counter is  incremented;  a  line-number
address  matches (selects) the input line which causes the inter-
nal counter to equal the address line-number.  The  counter  runs
cumulatively through multiple input files; it is not reset when a
new input file is opened.

As a special case, the character $ matches the last line  of  the
last input file.

2.2. Context Addresses

A context address is a pattern (`regular expression') enclosed in
slashes (`/').  The regular expressions  recognized  by  sed  are
constructed as follows:

     1)  An ordinary character (not one of those discussed below)
          is a regular expression, and matches that character.

     2) A circumflex `^' at the beginning of a regular expression
          matches  the null character at the beginning of a line.
     3) A dollar-sign `$' at the  end  of  a  regular  expression
          matches the null character at the end of a line.
     4)  The characters `\n' match an imbedded newline character,
          but not the newline at the end of the pattern space.
     5) A period `.' matches any character  except  the  terminal
          newline of the pattern space.
     6)  A regular expression followed by an asterisk `*' matches
          any number (including 0) of adjacent occurrences of the
          regular expression it follows.
     7)  A  string of characters in square brackets `[ ]' matches
          any character in the string, and no others.   If,  how-
          ever,  the  first character of the string is circumflex
          `^',  the  regular  expression  matches  any  character
          except  the  characters  in the string and the terminal
          newline of the pattern space.
     8) A concatenation  of  regular  expressions  is  a  regular
          expression  which  matches the concatenation of strings
          matched by the components of the regular expression.
     9) A regular expression between the sequences `\(' and  `\)'
          is identical in effect to the unadorned regular expres-
          sion, but has side-effects which  are  described  under
          the  s  command below and specification 10) immediately
          below.
     10) The expression `\d' means the same string of  characters
          matched by an expression enclosed in `\(' and `\)' ear-
          lier in the same pattern.  Here d is  a  single  digit;
          the  string  specified  is  that beginning with the dth
          occurrence of `\(' counting from the left.   For  exam-
          ple,  the  expression `^\(.*\)\1' matches a line begin-
          ning with two repeated occurrences of the same  string.
     11)  The null regular expression standing alone (e.g., `//')
          is equivalent to the  last regular expression compiled.

To  use one of the special characters (^ $ . * [ ] \ /) as a lit-
eral (to match an occurrence of itself in the input), precede the
special character by a backslash `\'.

For  a  context  address  to  `match' the input requires that the
whole pattern within the address match some portion of  the  pat-
tern space.

2.3. Number of Addresses

The  commands  in the next section can have 0, 1, or 2 addresses.
Under each command the maximum number  of  allowed  addresses  is
given.   For  a  command  to have more addresses than the maximum
allowed is considered an error.

If a command has no addresses, it is applied to every line in the
input.

If  a  command  has one address, it is applied to all lines which
match that address.

If a command has two addresses, it is applied to the  first  line
which  matches  the  first  address,  and to all subsequent lines
until (and including) the first subsequent line which matches the
second  address.   Then an attempt is made on subsequent lines to
again match the first address, and the process is repeated.

Two addresses are separated by a comma.

Examples:

     /an/      matches lines 1, 3, 4 in our sample text
     /an.*an/  matches line 1
     /^an/     matches no lines
     /./       matches all lines
     /\./      matches line 5
     /r*an/    matches lines 1,3, 4 (number = zero!)
     /\(an\).*\1/        matches line 1

3. FUNCTIONS

All functions are named by a single character.  In the  following
summary,  the  maximum  number  of  allowable  addresses is given
enclosed in parentheses, then the single character function name,
possible  arguments enclosed in angles (< >), an expanded English
translation of the single-character name, and finally a  descrip-
tion of what each function does.  The angles around the arguments
are not part of the argument, and should not be typed  in  actual
editing commands.

3.1. Whole-line Oriented Functions

     (2)d  --  delete  lines The d function deletes from the file
          (does not write to the output) all those lines  matched
          by  its  address(es).  It also has the side effect that
          no further commands are attempted on the  corpse  of  a
          deleted  line; as soon as the d function is executed, a
          new line is read from the input, and the list of  edit-
          ing  commands  is  re-started from the beginning on the
          new line.
     (2)n -- next line The n function reads the  next  line  from
          the  input,  replacing  the  current line.  The current
          line is written to the output if  it  should  be.   The
          list  of  editing commands is continued following the n
          command.
     (1)a\
      -- append lines
          The a function causes the argument  to be written
          to  the  output  after the line matched by its address.
          The a command is inherently multi-line; a  must  appear
          at the end of a line, and  may contain any number
          of lines.  To preserve the  one-command-to-a-line  fic-
          tion,  the  interior newlines must be hidden by a back-
          slash character (`\') immediately  preceding  the  new-
          line.   The   argument is terminated by the first
          unhidden newline (the first one  not  immediately  pre-
          ceded  by  backslash).   Once an a function is success-
          fully executed,  will be written  to  the  output
          regardless  of what later commands do to the line which
          triggered it.   The  triggering  line  may  be  deleted
          entirely;    will still be written to the output.
          The  is not scanned for address matches,  and  no
          editing  commands  are  attempted  on  it.  It does not
          cause any change in the line-number counter.
     (1)i\
      -- insert lines
          The i function  behaves identically to the a  function,
          except  that  is written to the output before the
          matched line.  All other comments about the a  function
          apply to the i function as well.
     (2)c\
      -- change lines
          The  c  function  deletes  the  lines  selected  by its
          address(es),  and  replaces  them  with  the  lines  in
          .   Like a and i, c must be followed by a newline
          hidden by a backslash; and interior new lines in 
          must  be hidden by backslashes.  The c command may have
          two addresses, and therefore select a range  of  lines.
          If it does, all the lines in the range are deleted, but
          only one copy of  is written to the  output,  not
          one  copy per line deleted.  As with a and i,  is
          not scanned for address matches, and  no  editing  com-
          mands  are  attempted  on  it.   It does not change the
          line-number counter.  After a line has been deleted  by
          a  c function, no further commands are attempted on the
          corpse.  If text is appended after a line  by  a  or  r
          functions,  and  the  line is subsequently changed, the
          text inserted by the c function will be  placed  before
          the  text  of the a or r functions.  (The r function is
          described in Section 3.4.)
Note: Within the text put in the output by these functions, lead-
ing  blanks  and  tabs will disappear, as always in sed commands.
To get leading blanks and tabs into the output, precede the first
desired  blank  or  tab  by  a  backslash; the backslash will not
appear in the output.

Example:

The list of editing commands:

     n
     a\
     XXXX
     d

applied to our standard input, produces:

     In Xanadu did Kubhla Khan
     XXXX
     Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
     XXXX
     Down to a sunless sea.

In this particular case, the same effect  would  be  produced  by
either of the two following command lists:

     n               n
     i\              c\
     XXXX    XXXX
     d


3.2. Substitute Function

One  very important function changes parts of lines selected by a
context search within the line.
     (2)s  --   substitute   The   s
          function  replaces  part  of  a line (selected by ) with .  It can best be read:
                    Substitute for ,    The
           argument contains a pattern, exactly like the
          patterns in addresses (see 2.2 above).  The  only  dif-
          ference between  and a context address is that
          the context address must be delimited  by  slash  (`/')
          characters;  may be delimited by any character
          other than space or  newline.   By  default,  only  the
          first  string matched by  is replaced, but see
          the g flag below.  The    argument  begins
          immediately  after  the  second delimiting character of
          , and must be followed immediately by  another
          instance  of the delimiting character.  (Thus there are
          exactly three instances of the  delimiting  character.)
          The   is not a pattern, and the characters
          which are special in patterns do not have special mean-
          ing  in  .   Instead, other characters are
          special:
               &       is replaced by the string matched by 
               \d  (where d is a single digit) is replaced by the
                    dth substring matched by parts  of  
                    enclosed  in  `\('  and `\)'.  If nested sub-
                    strings occur in , the dth is deter-
                    mined  by counting opening delimiters (`\(').
                    As in patterns,  special  characters  may  be
                    made literal by preceding them with backslash
                    (`\').
          The  argument may contain the following flags:
               g  --  substitute    for  all   (non-
                    overlapping)  instances  of   in the
                    line.  After a successful  substitution,  the
                    scan  for  the  next  instance  of  
                    begins just after the  end  of  the  inserted
                    characters; characters put into the line from
                     are not rescanned.
               p -- print the line if  a  successful  replacement
                    was  done.   The p flag causes the line to be
                    written to the output if and only if  a  sub-
                    stitution  was  actually  made by the s func-
                    tion.  Notice that if  several  s  functions,
                    each  followed by a p flag, successfully sub-
                    stitute in  the  same  input  line,  multiple
                    copies  of  the  line  will be written to the
                    output: one for each successful substitution.
               w  -- write the line to a file if a suc-
                    cessful replacement was  done.   The  w  flag
                    causes  lines  which are actually substituted
                    by the s function to be  written  to  a  file
                    named  by  .   If  exists
                    before sed is run, it is overwritten; if not,
                    it  is created.  A single space must separate
                    w  and  .   The  possibilities   of
                    multiple,  somewhat  different  copies of one
                    input line being written are the same as  for
                    p.   A maximum of 10 different file names may
                    be mentioned after w flags  and  w  functions
                    (see below), combined.

Examples:

The following command, applied to our standard input,

     s/to/by/w changes

produces, on the standard output:

     In Xanadu did Kubhla Khan
     A stately pleasure dome decree:
     Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
     Through caverns measureless by man
     Down by a sunless sea.

and, on the file `changes':

     Through caverns measureless by man
     Down by a sunless sea.

If the nocopy option is in effect, the command:

     s/[.,;?:]/*P&*/gp

produces:

     A stately pleasure dome decree*P:*
     Where Alph*P,* the sacred river*P,* ran
     Down to a sunless sea*P.*

Finally, to illustrate the effect of the g flag, the command:

     /X/s/an/AN/p

produces (assuming nocopy mode):

     In XANadu did Kubhla Khan

and the command:

     /X/s/an/AN/gp

produces:

     In XANadu did Kubhla KhAN

3.3. Input-output Functions

     (2)p  -- print The print function writes the addressed lines
          to the standard output file.  They are written  at  the
          time  the p function is encountered, regardless of what
          succeeding editing commands may do to the lines.
     (2)w  -- write on   The  write  function
          writes  the addressed lines to the file named by .  If the file previously existed, it is overwrit-
          ten;  if  not,  it  is  created.  The lines are written
          exactly as  they  exist  when  the  write  function  is
          encountered  for  each  line, regardless of what subse-
          quent editing commands may do  to  them.   Exactly  one
          space must separate the w and .  A maximum of
          ten different files may be mentioned in write functions
          and w flags after s functions, combined.
     (1)r    --  read  the  contents of a file The read
          function reads the contents of , and  appends
          them  after  the line matched by the address.  The file
          is read and  appended  regardless  of  what  subsequent
          editing  commands  do  to  the  line  which matched its
          address.  If r and a functions are executed on the same
          line, the text from the a functions and the r functions
          is written to the output in the order  that  the  func-
          tions  are  executed.   Exactly one space must separate
          the r and .  If a file mentioned by a r func-
          tion  cannot  be  opened, it is considered a null file,
          not an error, and no diagnostic is given.
NOTE: Since there is a limit to the number of files that  can  be
opened simultaneously, care should be taken that no more than ten
files be mentioned in  w  functions  or  flags;  that  number  is
reduced  by  one  if any r functions are present.  (Only one read
file is open at one time.)

Examples

Assume that the file `note1' has the following contents:

          Note:   Kubla  Khan   (more   properly   Kublai   Khan;
          1216-1294)  was the grandson and most eminent successor
          of Genghiz (Chingiz) Khan, and founder  of  the  Mongol
          dynasty in China.

Then the following command:

     /Kubla/r note1

produces:

     In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
          Note:    Kubla   Khan   (more   properly  Kublai  Khan;
          1216-1294) was the grandson and most eminent  successor
          of  Genghiz  (Chingiz)  Khan, and founder of the Mongol
          dynasty in China.
     A stately pleasure dome decree:
     Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
     Through caverns measureless to man
     Down to a sunless sea.

3.4.  Multiple Input-line Functions

Three functions, all spelled with capital letters, deal specially
with  pattern  spaces  containing  imbedded  newlines;  they  are
intended principally to provide pattern matches across  lines  in
the input.
     (2)N  --  Next  line  The next input line is appended to the
          current line in the pattern space; the two input  lines
          are  separated by an imbedded newline.  Pattern matches
          may extend across the imbedded newline(s).
     (2)D -- Delete first part of the pattern space Delete up  to
          and  including  the first newline character in the cur-
          rent pattern space.  If the pattern space becomes empty
          (the  only  newline  was  the  terminal  newline), read
          another line from the input.  In any  case,  begin  the
          list of editing commands again from its beginning.
     (2)P  --  Print  first part of the pattern space Print up to
          and including the first newline in the pattern space.
The P and D functions are equivalent to their lower-case counter-
parts if there are no imbedded newlines in the pattern space.

3.5.  Hold and Get Functions

Four  functions  save and retrieve part of the input for possible
later use.
     (2)h -- hold pattern space The h functions copies  the  con-
          tents of the pattern space into a hold area (destroying
          the previous contents of the hold area).
     (2)H -- Hold pattern space The H function appends  the  con-
          tents  of the pattern space to the contents of the hold
          area; the former and new contents are  separated  by  a
          newline.
     (2)g  -- get contents of hold area The g function copies the
          contents of  the  hold  area  into  the  pattern  space
          (destroying   the  previous  contents  of  the  pattern
          space).
     (2)G -- Get contents of hold area The G function appends the
          contents  of  the hold area to the contents of the pat-
          tern space; the former and new contents  are  separated
          by a newline.
     (2)x  -- exchange The exchange command interchanges the con-
          tents of the pattern space and the hold area.

Example

The commands
        1h
        1s/ did.*//
        1x
        G
        s/\n/  :/
applied to our standard example, produce:
        In Xanadu did Kubla Khan  :In Xanadu
        A stately pleasure dome decree:  :In Xanadu
        Where Alph, the sacred river, ran  :In Xanadu
        Through caverns measureless to man  :In Xanadu
        Down to a sunless sea.  :In Xanadu

3.6.  Flow-of-Control Functions

These functions do no editing on the input lines, but control the
application  of  functions  to  the lines selected by the address
part.
     (2)! -- Don't The Don't  command  causes  the  next  command
          (written  on  the  same line), to be applied to all and
          only those input lines not selected by the adress part.
     (2){  --  Grouping  The grouping command `{' causes the next
          set of commands to be applied (or  not  applied)  as  a
          block  to  the input lines selected by the addresses of
          the grouping command.  The first of the commands  under
          control  of the grouping may appear on the same line as
          the `{' or on the next line.

          The group of commands is terminated by a  matching  `}'
          standing on a line by itself.

          Groups can be nested.
     (0):