Printing a file within a cat call


 
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# 1  
Old 06-05-2013
Printing a file within a cat call

Hello,
I have a file called geom.txt which has some data in a particular format readable by another program (after adding some 'standard lines'), so what I want to do is to have a script that enables me to create a file (lets call it 'inpfile') readable for that program using a cat command, if I want to introduce the value of a previously defined variable (lets say key=345298) into 'inpfile' I simple type $key and it prints the value of the variable into the file, but how to print the content of geom.txt? This is what I have so far:
Code:
cat<<eoi>inpfile
Some standard lines of the program that is going to execute inpfile ....
$key
Content of geom.txt desired
Some other standard lines...
eoi

Thanks,
# 2  
Old 06-05-2013
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaldo0805
Hello,
I have a file called geom.txt which has some data in a particular format readable by another program (after adding some 'standard lines'), so what I want to do is to have a script that enables me to create a file (lets call it 'inpfile') readable for that program using a cat command, if I want to introduce the value of a previously defined variable (lets say key=345298) into 'inpfile' I simple type $key and it prints the value of the variable into the file, but how to print the content of geom.txt? This is what I have so far:
Code:
cat<<eoi>inpfile
Some standard lines of the program that is going to execute inpfile ....
$key
Content of geom.txt desired
Some other standard lines...
eoi

Thanks,
You're almost there. All you need to do is define key before you invoke cat. So for your example, all you need is:
Code:
key=345298
cat<<eoi>inpfile
Some standard lines of the program that is going to execute inpfile ....
$key
Content of geom.txt desired
Some other standard lines...
eoi

# 3  
Old 06-05-2013
Thanks for your reply, but probably I didn't express my question adequately... with the example using $key, I meant that if its only a variable previously defined what I want to print within the cat call, there is no problem, but if its the content of a file like geom.txt what I want to print within, it doesn't work the same way, that is by using $geom.txt it does not print the content of geom.txt... so in the "code example" I provided, in the line just after $key, what I really want is the actual content of geom.txt (which is a file that already exists in my working directory).
Thanks again,
# 4  
Old 06-05-2013
The way you formulated your request makes me think it could be homework or assignment .
Is it so?
# 5  
Old 06-05-2013
No, I wish it was a homework, that way I would still have classmates and teacher instructor to ask about that. It is actually something I am trying to do within my work... I've been working with this type of files 'by-hand' for four years, and finally decided to learn some more "advanced" unix commands and scripting that could help me be more efficient.
Thanks,
This User Gave Thanks to jaldo0805 For This Post:
# 6  
Old 06-05-2013
What works for "key" would also work for "geom.txt"...
Code:
key=345298
geo=$(cat geom.txt)
cat<<eoi>inpfile
Some standard lines of the program that is going to execute inpfile ....
$key   
$geo   # inserts contents of geom.txt here
Some other standard lines...
eoi

This User Gave Thanks to shamrock For This Post:
# 7  
Old 06-05-2013
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamrock
Code:
geo=$(cat geom.txt)

Why use cat at all? Use the shell itself geo=$(<geom.txt).
These 2 Users Gave Thanks to elixir_sinari For This Post:
 
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