Archive-Name: editor-faq/sed

Posting-Frequency: irregular

Last-modified: 10 March 2003

Version: 015

URL: http://sed.sourceforge.net/sedfaq.html

Maintainer: Eric Pement (pemente@northpark.edu)

                            THE SED FAQ

                  Frequently Asked Questions about

                       sed, the stream editor

CONTENTS

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1. Introduction - How this FAQ is organized

1.2. Latest version of the sed FAQ

1.3. FAQ revision information

1.4. How do I add a question/answer to the sed FAQ?

1.5. FAQ abbreviations

1.6. Credits and acknowledgements

1.7. Standard disclaimers

2. BASIC SED

2.1. What is sed?

2.2. What versions of sed are there, and where can I get them?

2.2.1. Free versions

2.2.1.1. Unix platforms

2.2.1.2. OS/2

2.2.1.3. Microsoft Windows (Win3x, Win9x, WinNT, Win2K)

2.2.1.4. MS-DOS

2.2.1.5. CP/M

2.2.1.6. Macintosh v8 or v9

2.2.2. Shareware and Commercial versions

2.2.2.1. Unix platforms

2.2.2.2. OS/2

2.2.2.3. Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Windows 2000

2.2.2.4. MS-DOS

2.3. Where can I learn to use sed?

2.3.1. Books

2.3.2. Mailing list

2.3.3. Tutorials, electronic text

2.3.4. General web and ftp sites

3. TECHNICAL

3.1. More detailed explanation of basic sed

3.1.1.  Regular expressions on the left side of "s///"

3.1.2.  Escape characters on the right side of "s///"

3.1.3.  Substitution switches

3.2. Common one-line sed scripts. How do I . . . ?

      - double/triple-space a file?

      - convert DOS/Unix newlines?

      - delete leading/trailing spaces?

      - do substitutions on all/certain lines?

      - delete consecutive blank lines?

      - delete blank lines at the top/end of the file?

3.3. Addressing and address ranges

3.4. Address ranges in GNU sed and HHsed

3.5. Debugging sed scripts

3.6. Notes about s2p, the sed-to-perl translator

3.7. GNU/POSIX extensions to regular expressions

4. EXAMPLES

   ONE-CHARACTER QUESTIONS

4.1.  How do I insert a newline into the RHS of a substitution?

4.2.  How do I represent control-codes or non-printable characters?

4.3.  How do I convert files with toggle characters, like +this+,

      to look like [i]this[/i]?

   CHANGING STRINGS

4.10. How do I perform a case-insensitive search?

4.11. How do I match only the first occurrence of a pattern?

4.12. How do I parse a comma-delimited (CSV) data file?

4.13. How do I handle fixed-length, columnar data?

4.14. How do I commify a string of numbers?

4.15. How do I prevent regex expansion on substitutions?

4.16. How do I convert a string to all lowercase or capital letters?

   CHANGING BLOCKS (consecutive lines)

4.20. How do I change only one section of a file?

4.21. How do I delete or change a block of text if the block contains

      a certain regular expression?

4.22. How do I locate a paragraph of text if the paragraph contains a

      certain regular expression?

4.23. How do I match a block of specific consecutive lines?

4.23.1.  Try to use a "/range/, /expression/"

4.23.2.  Try to use a "multi-line\nexpression"

4.23.3.  Try to use a block of "literal strings"

4.24. How do I address all the lines between RE1 and RE2, excluding the lines themselves?

4.25. How do I join two lines if line #1 ends in a [certain string]?

4.26. How do I join two lines if line #2 begins in a [certain string]?

4.27. How do I change all paragraphs to long lines?

   SHELL AND ENVIRONMENT

4.30.   How do I read environment variables with sed ...

4.31.1.   ... on Unix platforms?

4.31.2.   ... on MS-DOS or 4DOS platforms?

4.32.   How do I export or pass variables back into the environment ...

4.32.1.   ... on Unix platforms?

4.32.2.   ... on MS-DOS or 4DOS platforms?

4.33.   How do I handle shell quoting in sed?

   FILES, DIRECTORIES, AND PATHS

4.40.  How do I read (insert/add) a file at the top of a textfile?

4.41.  How do I make substitutions in every file in a directory, or

        in a complete directory tree?

4.41.1.   ... ssed solution

4.41.2.   ... Unix solution

4.41.3.   ... DOS solution

4.42.  How do I replace "/some/UNIX/path" in a substitution?

4.43.  How do I replace "C:\SOME\DOS\PATH" in a substitution?

4.44.  How do I emulate file-includes, using sed?

5. WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING?

5.1.  Why don't my variables like $var get expanded in my sed script?

5.2.  I'm using 'p' to print, but I have duplicate lines sometimes.

5.3.  Why does my DOS version of sed process a file part-way through

      and then quit?

5.4.  My RE isn't matching/deleting what I want it to. (Or, "Greedy vs.

      stingy pattern matching")

5.5.  What is CSDPMI*B.ZIP and why do I need it?

5.6.  Where are the man pages for GNU sed?

5.7.  How do I tell what version of sed I am using?

5.8.  Does sed issue an exit code?

5.9.  The 'r' command isn't inserting the file into the text.

5.10. Why can't I match or delete a newline using the \n escape

      sequence? Why can't I match 2 or more lines using \n?

5.11. My script aborts with an error message, "event not found".

6. OTHER ISSUES

6.1.  I have a problem that stumps me. Where can I get help?

6.2.  How does sed compare with awk, perl, and other utilities?

6.3.  When should I use sed?

6.4.  When should I NOT use sed?

6.5.  When should I ignore sed and use Awk or Perl instead?

6.6.  Known limitations among sed versions

6.7.  Known incompatibilities between sed versions

6.7.1. Issuing commands from the command line

6.7.2. Using comments (prefixed by the '#' sign)

6.7.3. Special syntax in REs

6.7.4. Word boundaries

6.7.5. Commands which operate differently

7. KNOWN BUGS AMONG SED VERSIONS

7.1. ssed v3.59

7.2. GNU sed v4.0 - v4.0.5

7.3. GNU sed v3.02.80

7.4. GNU sed v3.02

7.5. GNU sed v2.05

7.6. GNU sed v1.18

7.7. GNU sed v1.03

7.8. sed v1.6 (Briscoe)

7.9. sed v1.5 (Helman)

7.10. sedmod v1.0 (Chen)

7.11. HP-UX sed

7.12. SunOS sed v4.1

7.13. SunOS sed v5.6

7.14. Ultrix sed v4.3

7.15. Digital Unix sed

------------------------------

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1. Introduction - How this FAQ is organized

   This FAQ is organized to answer common (and some uncommon)

   questions about sed, quickly. If you see a term or abbreviation in

   the examples that seems unclear, see if the term is defined in

   section 1.5. If not, send your comment to pemente[at]northpark.edu.

1.2. Latest version of the sed FAQ

   The newest version of the sed FAQ is usually here:

       http://sed.sourceforge.net/sedfaq.html (HTML version)

       http://sed.sourceforge.net/sedfaq.txt  (plain text)

       http://www.student.northpark.edu/pemente/sed/sedfaq.html

       http://www.student.northpark.edu/pemente/sed/sedfaq.txt

       http://www.faqs.org/faqs/editor-faq/sed

       ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/faqs/editor-faq/sed

   Another FAQ file on sed by a different author can be found here:

       http://www.dreamwvr.com/sed-info/sed-faq.html

1.3. FAQ revision information

   In the plaintext version, changes are shown by a vertical bar (|)

   placed in column 78 of the affected lines. To remove the vertical

   bars (use double quotes for MS-DOS):

     sed 's/  *|$//' sedfaq.txt > sedfaq2.txt

   In the HTML version, vertical bars do not appear. New or altered

   portions of the FAQ are indicated by printing in dark blue type.

   In the text version, words needing emphasis may be surrounded by

   the underscore '_' or the asterisk '*'. In the HTML version, these

   are changed to italics and boldface, respectively.

1.4. How do I add a question/answer to the sed FAQ?

   Word your question briefly and send it to pemente[at]northpark.edu,

   indicating your proposed change. We'll post it on the sed-users

   mailing list (see section 2.3.2) and discuss it there. If it's

   good, your contribution will be added to the next edition.

1.5. FAQ abbreviations

       files = one or more filenames, separated by whitespace

       gsed  = GNU sed

       ssed  = super-sed

       RE    = Regular Expressions supported by sed

       LHS   = the left-hand side ("find" part) of "s/find/repl/" command

       RHS   = the right-hand side ("replace" part) of "s/find/repl/" cmd

       nn+   = version _nn_ or higher (e.g., "15+" = version 1.5 and above)

   files: "files" stands for one or more filenames entered on the

   command line. The names may include any wildcards your shell

   understands (such as ``zork*'' or ``Aug[4-9].let''). Sed will

   process each filename passed to it by the shell.

   RE: For details on regular expressions, see section 3.1.1., below.

1.6. Credits and acknowledgements

   Many of the ideas for this FAQ were taken from the Awk FAQ:

       http://www.faqs.org/faqs/computer-lang/awk/faq/

       ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.lang.awk/faq

   and from the old Perl FAQ:

       http://www.perl.com/doc/FAQs/FAQ/oldfaq-html/index.html

   The following individuals have contributed significantly to this

   document, and have provided input and wording suggestions for

   questions, answers, and script examples. Credit goes to these

   contributors (in alphabetical order by last name):

   Al Aab, Yiorgos Adamopoulos, Paolo Bonzini, Walter Briscoe, Jim

   Dennis, Carlos Duarte, Otavio Exel, Sven Guckes, Aurelio Jargas,

   Mark Katz, Toby Kelsey, Eric Pement, Greg Pfeiffer, Ken Pizzini,

   Niall Smart, Simon Taylor, Peter Tillier, Greg Ubben, Laurent

   Vogel.

1.7. Standard disclaimers

   While a serious attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the

   information presented herein, the contributors and maintainers of

   this document do not claim the absence of errors and make no

   warranties on the information provided. If you notice any mistakes,

   please let us know so we can fix it.

------------------------------

2. BASIC SED

2.1. What is sed?

   "sed" stands for Stream EDitor. Sed is a non-interactive editor,

   written by the late Lee E. McMahon in 1973 or 1974. A brief history

   of sed's origins may be found in an early history of the Unix

   tools, at <http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/ch106.x09>.

   Instead of altering a file interactively by moving the cursor on

   the screen (as with a word processor), the user sends a script of

   editing instructions to sed, plus the name of the file to edit (or

   the text to be edited may come as output from a pipe). In this

   sense, sed works like a filter -- deleting, inserting and changing

   characters, words, and lines of text. Its range of activity goes

   from small, simple changes to very complex ones.

   Sed reads its input from stdin (Unix shorthand for "standard

   input," i.e., the console) or from files (or both), and sends the

   results to stdout ("standard output," normally the console or

   screen). Most people use sed first for its substitution features.

   Sed is often used as a find-and-replace tool.

     sed 's/Glenn/Harold/g' oldfile >newfile

   will replace every occurrence of "Glenn" with the word "Harold",

   wherever it occurs in the file. The "find" portion is a regular

   expression ("RE"), which can be a simple word or may contain

   special characters to allow greater flexibility (for example, to

   prevent "Glenn" from also matching "Glennon").

   My very first use of sed was to add 8 spaces to the left side of a

   file, so when I printed it, the printing wouldn't begin at the

   absolute left edge of a piece of paper.

     sed 's/^/        /' myfile >newfile   # my first sed script

     sed 's/^/        /' myfile | lp       # my next sed script

   Then I learned that sed could display only one paragraph of a file,

   beginning at the phrase "and where it came" and ending at the

   phrase "for all people". My script looked like this:

     sed -n '/and where it came/,/for all people/p' myfile

   Sed's normal behavior is to print (i.e., display or show on screen)

   the entire file, including the parts that haven't been altered,

   unless you use the -n switch. The "-n" stands for "no output". This

   switch is almost always used in conjunction with a 'p' command

   somewhere, which says to print only the sections of the file that

   have been specified. The -n switch with the 'p' command allow for

   parts of a file to be printed (i.e., sent to the console).

   Next, I found that sed could show me only (say) lines 12-18 of a

   file and not show me the rest. This was very handy when I needed to

   review only part of a long file and I didn't want to alter it.

     # the 'p' stands for print

     sed -n 12,18p myfile

   Likewise, sed could show me everything else BUT those particular

   lines, without physically changing the file on the disk:

     # the 'd' stands for delete

     sed 12,18d myfile

   Sed could also double-space my single-spaced file when it came time

   to print it:

     sed G myfile >newfile

   If you have many editing commands (for deleting, adding,

   substituting, etc.) which might take up several lines, those

   commands can be put into a separate file and all of the commands in

   the file applied to file being edited:

     #  'script.sed' is the file of commands

     # 'myfile' is the file being changed

     sed -f script.sed myfile  # 'script.sed' is the file of commands

   It is not our intention to convert this FAQ file into a full-blown

   sed tutorial (for good tutorials, see section 2.3). Rather, we hope

   this gives the complete novice a few ideas of how sed can be used.

2.2. What versions of sed are there, and where can I get them?

2.2.1. Free versions

   Note: "Free" does not mean "public domain" nor does it necessarily

   mean you will never be charged for it. All versions of sed in this

   section except the CP/M versions are based on the GNU general

   public license and are "free software" by that standard (for

   details, see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html). This

   means you can get the source code and develop it further.

   At the URLs listed in this category, sed binaries or source code

   can be downloaded and used without fees or license payments.

2.2.1.1. Unix platforms

   ssed v3.60

   ssed is the version recommended by the FAQ maintainers, since it

   shares the same codebase with GNU sed, has the most options, and is

   free software (you can get the source). Though there were earlier

   version of ssed distributed, sites for these are not being listed.

       http://sed.sourceforge.net/grabbag/ssed

       http://freshmeat.net/project/sed/

   GNU sed v4.0.5

   This is the latest official version of GNU sed. It offers in-place

   text replacement as an option switch.

       ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/sed/sed-4.0.5.tar.gz

       http://freshmeat.net/project/sed

   BSD multi-byte sed (Japanese)

   Based on the latest version of GNU sed, which supports multi-byte

   characters.

       ftp://ftp1.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-stable/packages/Latest/ja-sed.tgz

   GNU sed v3.02.80

   An alpha test release which was the base for the development of

   ssed and GNU sed v4.0.

       ftp://alpha.gnu.org/pub/gnu/sed/sed-3.02.80.tar.gz

   GNU sed v3.02a

   Interim version with most features of GNU sed v3.02.80.

   GNU sed v3.02

       ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/sed/sed-3.02.tar.gz

   Precompiled versions:

   GNU sed v3.02-8

   source code and binaries for Debian GNU/Linux

       http://www.debian.org/Packages/stable/base/sed.html

   For some time, the GNU project <http://www.gnu.org> used Eric S.

   Raymond's version of sed (ESR sed v1.1), but eventually dropped it

   because it had too many built-in limits. In 1991 Howard Helman

   modified the GNU/ESR sed and produced a flexible version of sed

   v1.5 available at several sites (Helman's version permitted things

   like \<...\> to delimit word boundaries, \xHH to enter hex code and

   \n to indicate newlines in the replace string). This version did

   not catch on with the GNU project and their version of sed has

   moved in a similar but different direction.

   sed v1.3, by Eric Steven Raymond (released 4 June 1998)

       http://catb.org/~esr/sed-1.3.tar.gz

   Eric Raymond <esr@snark.thyrsus.com> wrote one of the earliest

   versions of sed. On his website <http://www.catb.org/~esr/> which

   also distributes many freeware utilities he has written or worked

   on, he describes sed v1.1 this way:

   "This is the fast, small sed originally distributed in the GNU

   toolkit and still distributed with Minix. The GNU people ditched it

   when they built their own sed around an enhanced regex package --

   but it's still better for some uses (in particular, faster and less

   memory-intensive)." (Version 1.3 fixes an unidentified bug and adds

   the L command to hexdump the current pattern space.)

2.2.1.2. OS/2

   GNU sed v3.02.80

       http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~vtgf3mpr/gnu/sed.htm

   GNU sed v3.02

       http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/util/file/sed-3_02-r2-bin.zip # binaries

       http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/pub/os2/util/file/sed-3_02-r2.zip     # source

2.2.1.3. Microsoft Windows (Win3x, Win9x, WinNT, Win2K)

   GNU sed v4.0.5

   32-bit binaries and docs. Precompiled versions not available (yet).

   GNU sed v3.02.80

   32-bit binaries and docs, using DJGPP compiler. For details on new

   features, see Unix section, above.

       http://www.student.northpark.edu/pemente/sed/sed3028a.zip # DOS binaries

       ftp://alpha.gnu.org/pub/gnu/sed/sed-3.02.80.tar.gz        # source

       ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed3028b.zip # binaries

       ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed3028d.zip # docs

       ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed3028s.zip # source

   GNU sed v2.05

   32-bit binaries, no docs. Requires 80386 DX (SX will not run) and

   must be run in a DOS window or in a full screen DOS session under

   Microsoft Windows. Will not run in MS-DOS mode (outside Win/Win95).

   We recommend using the latest version of GNU sed.

       http://www.simtel.net/pub/win95/prog/gsed205b.zip

       ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/prog/gsed205b.zip

   GNU sed v1.03

   modified by Frank Whaley.

   This version was part of the "Virtually UN*X" toolset, hosted by

   itribe.net; that website is now closed. Gsed v1.03 supported Win9x

   long filenames, as well as hex, decimal, binary, and octal

   character representations.

   The Cygwin toolkit:

       http://www.cygwin.com

   Formerly know as "GNU-Win32 tools." According to their home page,

   "The Cygwin tools are Win32 ports of the popular GNU development

   tools for Windows NT, 95 and 98. They function through the use of

   the Cygwin library which provides a UNIX-like API on top of the

   Win32 API." The version of sed used is GNU sed v3.02.

   Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW):

       http://www.mingw.org

       http://mingw.sourceforge.net

   According to their home page, "MinGW ('Minimalist GNU for Windows')

   refers to a set of runtime headers, used in building a compiler

   system based on the GNU GCC and binutils projects. It compiles and

   links code to be run on Win32 platforms ... MinGW uses Microsoft

   runtime libraries, distributed with the Windows operating system."

   The version of sed used is GNU sed v3.02.

   sed v1.5 (a/k/a HHsed), by Howard Helman

   Compiled with Mingw32 for 32-bit environments described above. This

   version should support Win95 long filenames.

       http://www.dbnet.ece.ntua.gr/~george/sed/OLD/sed15.exe

       http://www.student.northpark.edu/pemente/sed/sed15exe.zip

2.2.1.4. MS-DOS

   sed v1.6 (from HHsed), by Walter Briscoe

   This is a forthcoming version, now in beta testing, but with many

   new features. It corrects all the bugs in sed v1.5, and adds the

   best features of sedmod v1.0 (below). It is available in 16-bit and

   32-bit compiled versions for MS-DOS. Sorry, no URLs available yet.

   sed v1.5 (a/k/a HHsed), by Howard Helman

   uncompiled source code (Turbo C)

       ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/txtutl/sed15.zip

       ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/msdos/txtutl/sed15.zip

   DOS executable and documentation

       ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/txtutl/sed15x.zip

       ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/msdos/txtutl/sed15x.zip

   sedmod v1.0, by Hern Chen

       http://www.ptug.org/sed/SEDMOD10.ZIP

       http://www.student.northpark.edu/pemente/sed/sedmod10.zip

       ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/unix/sedmod10.zip

   GNU sed v3.02.80

   See section 2.2.1.3 ("Microsoft Windows"), above.

   GNU sed v2.05

   Does not run under MS-DOS.

   GNU sed v1.18

   32-bit binaries and source, using DJGPP compiler. Requires 80386 SX

   or better. Also requires 3 CWS*.EXE extenders on the path. See

   section 5.5 ("What is CSDPMI*B.ZIP and why do I need it?"), below.

   We recommend using a newer version of GNU sed.

       http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed118b.zip

       ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed118b.zip

       http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed118s.zip

       ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2gnu/sed118s.zip

   GNU sed v1.06

   16-bit binaries and source. Should run under any MS-DOS system.

       http://www.simtel.net/pub/gnu/gnuish/sed106.zip

       ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/gnu/gnuish/sed106.zip

2.2.1.5. CP/M

   ssed v2.2, by Chuck A. Forsberg

   Written for CP/M, ssed (for "small/stupid stream editor) supports

   only the a(ppend), c(hange), d(elete) and i(nsert) options, and

   apparently doesn't support regular expressions. A -u switch will

   "unsqueeze" compressed files and was used mainly in conjunction

   with DIF.COM for source code maintenance. (file: ssed22.lbr)

   change, by Michael M. Rubenstein

   Rubenstein released a version of sed called CHANGE.COM (the

   TTOOLS.LBR archive member CHANGE.CZM is a "crunched" file).

   CHANGE.COM supports full RE's except grouping and backreferences,

   and its only function is global substitution. (file: ttools.lbr)

2.2.1.6. Macintosh v8 or v9

   Since sed is a command-line utility, it is not customary to think

   of sed being used on a Mac. Nonetheless, the following instructions

   from Aurelio Jargas describe the process for running sed on MacOS

   version version 8 or 9.

   (1) Download and install the Apple DiskCopy application

       ftp://ftp.apple.com/developer/Development_Kits

   (2) Download and install Apple MPW

       ftp://ftp.apple.com/developer/Tool_Chest/Core_Mac_OS_Tools/MPW_etc./

   (3) Download and expand Matthias Neeracher's GNU sed for MPW. (They

   seem to have misnumbered the sed filename.)

       ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/software/platform/macos/src/mpw_c/sed-2.03.sit.bin

   (4) Enter the sed-3.02 directory and doubleclick the 'sed' file

   (5) MPW Shell will open up. It will be a command window instead of

   a command line, but sed should work as expected. For example:

       echo aa | sed 's/a/Z/g'<ENTER>

   Note that ENTER is different from RETURN on an iMac. Apple *also*

   has its own version of sed on MPW, called "StreamEdit", with a

   syntax fairly similar to that of normal sed.

2.2.2. Shareware and Commercial versions

2.2.2.1. Unix platforms

       [ Additional information needed. ]

2.2.2.2. OS/2

   Hamilton Labs:

       http://www.hamiltonlabs.com/cshell.htm

   A sizable set of Unix/C shell utilities designed for OS/2. Price is

   $350 in the US, $395 elsewhere, with FedEx shipping, unconditional

   guarantee, unlimited support and free updates. A demo version of

   the suite can be downloaded from this site, but a stand-alone copy

   of sed is not available.

2.2.2.3. Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Windows 2000

   Hamilton Labs:

       http://www.hamiltonlabs.com/cshell.htm

   A sizable set of Unix/C shell utilities designed for Win9x, WinNT,

   and Win2K. Price is $350 in the US, $395 elsewhere, with FedEx

   shipping, unconditional guarantee, unlimited support and free

   updates. A demo version of the suite can be downloaded from this

   site, but a stand-alone copy of sed is not available.

   Interix:

       http://www.interix.com

   Interix (formerly known as OpenNT) is advertised as "a complete

   UNIX system environment running natively on Microsoft Windows NT",

   and is licensed and supported by Softway Systems. It offers over

   200 Unix utilities, and supports Unix shells, sockets, networking,

   and more. A single-user edition runs about $200. A free demo or

   evaluation copy will run for 31 days and then quit; to continue

   using it, you must purchase the commercial version.

   MKS NuTCRACKER Professional

       http://www.datafocus.com/products/nutc/

   A different, yet related product line offered by MKS (Mortice Kern

   Systems, below); the awkward spelling "NuTCRACKER" is intentional.

   Various packages offer hundreds of Unix utilities for Win32

   environments. Sed is not available as a separate product.

   UnixDos:

       http://www.unixdos.com

   UnixDos is a suite of 82 Unix utilities ported over to the Windows

   environments. There are 16-bit versions for Win3.x and 32-bit

   versions for WinNT/Win95. It is distributed as uncrippled shareware

   for the first 30 days. After the test period, the utilities will

   not run and you must pay the registration fee of $50.

   Their version of sed supports "\n" in the RHS of expressions, and

   increases the length of input lines to 10,000 characters. By

   special arrangement with the owners, persons who want a licensed

   version of sed *only* (without the other utilities) may pay a

   license fee of $10.

   U/WIN:

       http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/uwin/

   U/WIN is a suite of Unix utilities created for WinNT and Win95

   systems. It is owned by AT&T, created by David Korn (author of the

   Unix korn shell), and is freely distributed only to educational

   institutions, AT&T employees, or certain researchers; all others

   must pay a fee after a 90-day evaluation period expires. U/WIN

   operates best with the NTFS (WinNT file system) but will run in

   degraded mode with the FAT file system and in further degraded mode

   under Win95. A minimal installation takes about 25 to 30 megs of

   disk space. Sed is not available as a separate file for download,

   but comes with the suite.

2.2.2.4. MS-DOS

   Mix C/Utilities Toolchest

       http://www.mixsoftware.com/product/utility.htm

   According to their web page, "The C/Utilities Toolchest adds over

   40 powerful UNIX utilities to your MS-DOS operating system. The

   result is an environment very similar to UNIX operating systems,

   yet 100% compatible with MS-DOS programs and commands." The

   toolchest costs $19.95, with source code available for an

   additional fee. Mix C's version of sed is not available separately.

   MKS (Mortice Kern Systems) Toolkit

       http://www.mks.com

   Sed comes bundled with the MKS Toolkit, which is distributed only

   as commercial software; it is not available separately.

   Thompson Automation Software

       http://www.tasoft.com

   The Thompson Toolkit contains over 100 familiar Unix utilities,

   including a version of the Unix Korn shell. It runs under MS-DOS,

   OS/2, Win3.x, Win9x, and WinNT. Sed is one of the utilities, though

   Thompson is better known for its version of awk for DOS, TAWK. The

   toolkit runs about $150; sed is not available separately.

2.3. Where can I learn to use sed?

2.3.1. Books

       _Sed & Awk, 2d edition_, by Dale Dougherty & Arnold Robbins

       (Sebastopol, Calif: O'Reilly and Associates, 1997)

       ISBN 1-56592-225-5

       http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/sed2/noframes.html

   About 40 percent of this book is devoted to sed, and maybe 50

   percent is devoted to awk. The other 10 percent covers regexes and

   concepts common to both tools. If you prefer hard copy, this is

   definitely the best single place to learn to use sed, including its

   advanced features.

   The first edition is also very useful. Several typos crept into the

   first printing of the first edition (though if you follow the

   tutorials closely, you'll recognize them right away). A list of

   errors from the first printing of _sed & awk_ is available at

   <http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~dzubera/sedawk.txt>, and errors in

   the 2nd are at <http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~dzubera/sedawk2.txt>,

   though most of these were corrected in later printings. The second

   edition tells how POSIX standards have affected these tools and

   covers the popular GNU versions of sed and awk. Price is about (US)

   $30.00