Chapter Summary

The sed (stream editor) utility is a batch (noninteractive) editor. It takes its input from files you specify on the command line or from standard input. Unless you redirect the output from sed, it goes to standard output.

A sed program consists of one or more lines with the following syntax:

[address[,address]]instruction [argument-list]

The addresses are optional. If you omit the address, sed processes all lines of input. The instruction is the editing instruction that modifies the text. The addresses select the line(s) the instruction part of the command operates on. The number and kinds of arguments in the argument-list depend on the instruction.

In addition to basic instructions, sed includes some powerful advanced instructions. One set of these instructions allows sed programs to store data temporarily in a buffer called the Hold space. Other instructions provide unconditional and conditional branching in sed programs.