Batch File using sed in windows - unexpected append instead of replace

Question

I've been tasked with migrating a group of batch scripts to Windows 7 (from XP) and have had a few problems using sed for substitution. What i need the line to do is find LogPath and anything inside the double quotes should be replaced with ABC (just for testing - will actually be a UNC path).

However instead I'm getting two strange problems:

it's deleting the first double quote
more importantly it isn't actually replacing anything inside the quotes, but instead is just appending to this string

Here is the relevant line of the script:

sed \\fs-bri-01\9732\9732.hfls -i -e s,LogPath="*.",LogPath="ABC",g

This script works on Windows XP but not Windows 7.

are you sure of the `*.` part? Isn't it `.*`? – Benoit Sep 29 '11 at 13:12 — Benoit, Sep 29 '11 at 13:12

Benoit · Answer 1 · 2011-09-29T13:14:31.750

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Maybe the problem comes from the UNC path:

pushd \\fs-bri-01\9732
sed 9732.fls -i -e s,LogPath="*.",LogPath="ABC",g
popd

But maybe the problem comes from the quote characters and the way sed gets its argv array. Then you can try:

sed -i -e "s/LogPath=\".*\"/LogPath=\"ABC\"/g" \\fs-bri-01\9732\9732.hfls

edited Sep 29 '11 at 13:14

answered Sep 29 '11 at 12:01

Benoit

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I wouldn't expect it to be the UNC path due to the script actually editing the file just not how i want it. The quotes are a standard part of regex which are used to find anything inside the quote marks so wouldn't think it would be that but can't be sure. Well i would try to use a sed script file if i knew what extension that is :D. But really trying to avoid having this in a seperate file as this script already has 5/6 script files related to it. – ION Sep 29 '11 at 13:10
Ahhh escape characters that's what i was missing :P. Lol mind u doesn't exactly work instead it does replace what's inside the double quotes but also removes everything else off the line :P. Is it me or is it acting a little loopy ? – ION Sep 29 '11 at 13:19
@user914244: sed is greedy. So `.*"` will match everything until the LAST double quote. If you want non-greedy matching then use Perl for example: `perl -pe "s/LogPath=\".*?\"/LogPath=\"ABC\"/g;"` – Benoit Sep 29 '11 at 13:23
No way i can do non-greedy in a batch script ? – ION Sep 29 '11 at 13:32
Well figured a work around posting it below for anyone stuck in the same situation. sed \\fs-bri-01\9732\9732.hfls -i -e "s/LogPath=\"[\:A-Z0-9a-z\_\\\/\.\ ]*\"/LogPath=\"ABC\"/g" – ION Sep 29 '11 at 13:37
@user914244 : you can post your answer (nicely formatted please ;-) and accept your answer. Then you can up-vote your answer. Both of these actions increase your reputation points here on S.O. Good luck. – shellter Sep 30 '11 at 01:31

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 30 '11 at 13:37

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Well figured a work around posting it below for anyone stuck in the same situation.

sed \\fs-bri-01\9732\9732.hfls -i -e "s/LogPath=\"[\:A-Z0-9a-z_\\\/\.\ ]*\"/LogPath=\"ABC\"/g"

answered Sep 30 '11 at 13:37

ION

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Batch File using sed in windows - unexpected append instead of replace

2 Answers2