BASH: How do I grep on a variable? (or simmilar question that makes sense)

Quan · #1 (**permalink**) 04-22-2009

Hi, I've been running code which very frequently calls books.csv. e.g:

Code:

grep -i horror books.csv > temp

jamester76 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-22-2009

Set your variable as follows:
bookfile=`cat books.csv`

Then your grep should get every line that has the word "horror" in it. If you want specific fields from each line, you'll need to do something similar to:

bookname=`echo $bookfile | awk -F"," '{print $1}'`

This assumes the fields are separated by commas (true csv format) and that the first field is the bookname.

cfajohnson · #3 (**permalink**) 04-22-2009

Code:

printf "%s\n" "$bookfile" | grep -i horror

Quan · #4 (**permalink**) 04-23-2009

Ahh thanks, but I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be doing this without the awk function.

Quan · #5 (**permalink**) 04-23-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfajohnson

Code:

printf "%s\n" "$bookfile" | grep -i horror

Thank you loads!!

More UNIX and Linux Forum Topics You Might Find Helpful
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
bash and ksh: variable lost in loop in bash?	estienne	Shell Programming and Scripting	2	08-25-2008 03:09 PM
passing variable from bash to perl from bash script	arsidh	Shell Programming and Scripting	10	06-04-2008 01:25 PM
question on sed grep awk from variable	3Gmobile	Shell Programming and Scripting	9	08-11-2006 01:15 AM
Simple grep - Not sure it makes sense!	GNMIKE	UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers	5	10-22-2005 03:51 AM
Linux Benchmarks Makes No Sense	philip_38	Linux Benchmarks	0	07-22-2005 11:29 AM

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:


	Powered by