UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hey all. I have a file that I am trying to cut information out of. We have a script that shows us all of our Radio Scanners that are being used and I'm writing a script that clears all of the context off of the scanners. The script that runs shows us this information below...

|emp_id |first_name|last_name |base_unit|radio_id|
|---------|----------|--------------------|---------|--------|
|S990CA2 |CORY |AUKERMAN | 1| 66|
|S990LR4 |LARRY |ROGERS | 1| 67|
|S990EF1 |ELIZABETH |FREDRITZ | 1| 69|
|S990JG7 |JARED |GEORGE | 1| 70|
|S990SM9 |SANTOS |MELCHOR JR. | 1| 71|
|S990RB8 |RONNIE |BOWLIN | 1| 73|
|S990MW3 |MEGAN |WARE | 1| 74|
|S990ML1 |MICHAEL |LOWERY | 1| 75|
|S990HW2 |HAMER |WOLFE | 1| 77|
|S990RB13 |RAY |BYERLY | 1| 81|
|S990DM3 |DEAN |MULVAINE | 1| 82|
|S990JH3 |JAY |HARTMAN | 1| 84|

The only info that I need are emp_id and the Radio_id. The only problem is, I don't know how to cut the top 2 or 3 lines to erase the headers. I have the characters that I need cut out just fine, but I'm not so sure about the top 2 lines. Any help would be great.

Thanks a lot.

try:
sed '1,2d'

It doesn't appear to be working. Do I need to put the filename behind it, or pipe the line to the sed command? Can you be a little more detailed?

sed '1,2d' filename | theRestOfTheFieldCuttingLogic

Yes, "sed" needs an input. This is a basic requirement of all such utilities. sed can take its input from stdin or from referencing a file.

Example 1:

Code:

cmd | cmd | cmd | sed '1,2d'

Note: "cmd" is simply some scripting command or a UNIX utility.
Example 2:

Code:

sed '1,2d' your_really_big_file

This is because sed is expecting keyboard entries. Try it again and enter a bunch of lines and when you press CTRL-D on your keyboard, you'll see the expected results: all lines except the top two will be reprinted on your screen.

That did it. I was just running radiousers.log sed 1,2d instead of piping it. Thanks for the help everyone. You saved the day again.