UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hey all

I am trying to append a file called datebook.txt. I want to append the end of each line containing the name Fred with three ***. I believe I need to make the * loose its meta character meaning in addition to using the append command. I have tried several variations of this command and I cant seem to get it right. I am new to all this and can't seem to get it to work. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, citizencro
sed '-e/fred/a//***/' <datebook.txt >datebook.sh

Doesn't seem right, the man page for 'sed' states that the option -e adds a script to the command(s), and hence should be a [space] after -e .

I also think you may need to escape each '*' with a backslash (\), like so: 's//\*\*\*/'

Post your command line input as well as your exact output in code tags.

Hi, citizencro:

If you are simply trying to add to the end of a line, use the substitute command (s) with a regular expression that matches nothing but the end of line ($).

The append command (a) will create an entirely new line.


The * is not special in the replacement text. \* results in an undefined sequence.

Regards,
Alister

@ Alister: Thanks for the correction.