how to remove the first line from a flat file ?


 
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# 1  
Old 03-17-2005
how to remove the first line from a flat file ?

Hi,

I want to remove the first line from a flat file using unix command as simple as possible. Can anybody give me a hand ?

Thanks in advance.

xli
# 2  
Old 03-17-2005
printf ":1d\n:wq\n" | ex name_of_your_flatfile
# 3  
Old 03-17-2005
another way,

sed -i '1d' filename
# 4  
Old 03-17-2005
That does not remove the line from the file, is streams the file to stdout with the first line removed. It would need to be redirected into a temporary file and moved back to replace the original file.

Also if I am correct, and I remember correctly the flatfile xli is talking about is pretty huge (millions of lines), and do it that way could be pretty slow.
# 5  
Old 03-17-2005
thanks for the explanation. i give another reply

perl -pi -e '$_ = "" if ($. == 1);' filename

which one is fastest?
# 6  
Old 03-17-2005
Quote:
Originally Posted by reborg
That does not remove the line from the file, is streams the file to stdout with the first line removed. It would need to be redirected into a temporary file and moved back to replace the original file.
Not always - it depends on which version of sed you're using.... GNU sed supports the -i option to edit files in place (a backup extension can also be supplied much like perls -i option).

Observe...
Code:
$ cat > flatfile
1st line
2nd line
3rd line
^D
$ sed -i '1d' flatfile
$ more flatfile
2nd line
3rd line

Cheers
ZB
# 7  
Old 03-17-2005
perl -pi -e '$_ = "" if ($. == 1);' filename

works very well.

Thanks very much for your help, Tanku and Reborg.

Regards, xli
 
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