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Problem with searching and then editing a file through shell.

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# 1  
Old 05-27-2011
Problem with searching and then editing a file through shell.
Hi,

I have searched through this forum as there are many similar entries but could'nt get one of them to work, either that or they were just different to what I needed.

Basically I have a file, recordsDatabase. In this file are a few different fields. There is a unique identifier eg 001 which is a variable the user enters into the application.

I then want to search through the file for the unique identifier field and once the right line has been found prompt the user to enter new information which will then write over the old record and save.

The only part of the code I am struggling with is the part to actually open and edit the file.. I know sed is definately the way forward but I can't for the life of me figure out how to do it...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mikey
# 2  
Old 05-27-2011
Can you post your sample file and the output required
# 3  
Old 05-27-2011
Hi,

Code:
 
function amendRecord() {
clear
 
        read -p "Please enter the Staff ID of the record you wish to edit: " strID
        output=$(grep "$strID" recordDatabase)
 
        strID=$(echo $output | cut -d ":" -f1)
        strForename=$(echo $output | cut -d ":" -f2)
        strSurname=$(echo $output | cut -d ":" -f3)
        strProf=$(echo $output | cut -d ":" -f4)
        strTech=$(echo $output | cut -d ":" -f5)
        strComm=$(echo $output | cut -d ":" -f6)
 
                        if [[ -z "$output" ]] ; then
                                echo "You have entered an invalid ID, please try again."
                                sleep 2
                                amendRecord
                        fi
                        if [[ -n "$output" ]] ; then
                                read -p "The record: ($output) is about to be amended.. Press Y to continue or N to cancel: " yesNo
                                        case $yesNo in
                                                [Yy]) echo "Editing Record"
                                                        #EDIT CODE GOES HERE!!! ;;
                                                [Nn]) echo "Cancelling edit.."
                                                      sleep 0.5
                                                      loadWelcomeScreen ;;
                                                *)    echo "You did not press Y or N, please try again.."
                                                      sleep 0.5
                                                      amendRecord ;;
                                        esac
                        fi
 
 
 }

Hope that helps.
Last edited by U_C_Dispatj; 05-27-2011 at 05:44 AM.. Reason: spelling!
# 4  
Old 05-27-2011
I think as per your code, it seems that the strID is unique inside the recodedatabase file, i.e. we will have only one record having strID.

In this case, if you aren't bothered about the record ordering, you could simply remove the row which having strID using grep -v and add the new row at the end of recorddatabase file.

you can populate the new row in sequence of read command like

Code:
read -p "Enter surname : " surname
read -p "Enter tech: " tech
new_rec = `echo $surname \: $tech`

But if you are allowed to edit strID, then you may have to check for duplicates.

Please let us know if we are assuming anything wrong
This User Gave Thanks to kumaran_5555 For This Post:
U_C_Dispatj
# 5  
Old 05-27-2011
Hi, yeah I had a play over last hour or so, the best way I figured out was to use SED and delete the whole line, then to just call the function which inputs new data and do it as such... would be nice if i could simply get it to delete the line then add data back into the same line..

And yes, strID is a unique identifier, there are checks to make sure no two are the same.

thanks for your reply !
# 6  
Old 05-27-2011
If you want the new record to be in the same line, then you can use awk to do that. or few head and tail commands with line number will help.

I am giving a simple example with awk here,

Code:
user@host> (/home/user/c_test) $
user@host> (/home/user/c_test) $
user@host> (/home/user/c_test) $ cat test.txt
one
two
three
fourth
fifth
sixth

this was similar to your recorddatabase file, i am trying to enter new value instead of three
Code:
xti@host> (/home/user/c_test) $ awk '{if($0~/^three/){system("read -p \"Entre : \" temp;echo $temp")}else {print $0}} ' test.txt >new.txt
Entre : Hello

Now the new.txt file will have new records
Code:
user@host> (/home/user/c_test) $ cat new.txt
one
two
Hello
fourth
fifth
sixth

user@host> (/home/user/c_test) $

This User Gave Thanks to kumaran_5555 For This Post:
U_C_Dispatj
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