Article 874 of comp.editors:
Path: arizona!noao!ncar!gatech!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hpda!hpcuhc!smaxwell
>From: smaxwell@hpcuhc.HP.COM (Susan Maxwell)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: SED Question
Message-ID: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM>
Date: 11 Apr 89 00:43:33 GMT
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino
Lines: 15


Got a sed question for you:  I'm creating a sed filter to mask out and
delete unwanted characters in a trace file.  I'm having trouble with this
configuration:

        LINE I:    PROMPT>
        LINE I+1:  >
        LINE I+2:  <

Whenever I see this series, I want to delete ALL THREE lines.  I can't
create a pattern /PROMPT\>\\n\>\\n\</d   as far as I can tell, because
sed won't allow patterns to span lines.  Is there a way to do this, without
resorting to awk or ed?   

Susan Maxwell



From local Tue Apr 11 19:23 MST 1989
To: arizona!ucbvax!hplabs!hpda!hpcuhc!smaxwell
Subject: Re: SED question
Cc: local
Status: RO

> Got a sed question for you:  I'm creating a sed filter to mask out and
> delete unwanted characters in a trace file.  I'm having trouble with this
> configuration:
> 
> 	LINE I:    PROMPT>
> 	LINE I+1:  >
> 	LINE I+2:  <

Perhaps try the following (sed can match newlines):

	sed -e '/^PROMPT>$/{
		N
		N
		/\n>\n<$/d
	}'

John Rupley
 uucp: ..{uunet | ucbvax | cmcl2 | hao!ncar!noao}!arizona!rupley!local
 internet: rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu
 (H) 30 Calle Belleza, Tucson AZ 85716 - (602) 325-4533
 (O) Dept. Biochemistry, Univ. Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721 - (602) 621-3929




Path: arizona!noao!ncar!unmvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!bbn!bbn.com!jgrace
From: jgrace@bbn.com (Joe Grace)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: SED Question
Summary: sed is broken
Keywords: sed
Message-ID: <38564@bbn.COM>
Date: 12 Apr 89 00:11:35 GMT
References: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM>
Sender: news@bbn.COM
Reply-To: jgrace@BBN.COM (Joe Grace)
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
Lines: 47

In article <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> smaxwell@hpcuhc.HP.COM (Susan Maxwell) writes:
>
>Got a sed question for you:  I'm creating a sed filter to mask out and
>delete unwanted characters in a trace file.  I'm having trouble with this
>configuration:
>
>        LINE I:    PROMPT>
>        LINE I+1:  >
>        LINE I+2:  <
>
>Whenever I see this series, I want to delete ALL THREE lines.  I can't
>create a pattern /PROMPT\>\\n\>\\n\</d   as far as I can tell, because
>sed won't allow patterns to span lines.  Is there a way to do this, without
>resorting to awk or ed?   
>
>Susan Maxwell

Yes, there is a way to get sed to do this, but you have to be
wary of sed's shortcomings.

Try:
----
#! /bin/sh

(cat trace.out;  echo "SomeUniqueID")  \
| sed  \
    -e '/^PROMPT>$/{'  \
      -e 'N'  \
      -e '/\nSomeUniqueID$/{;s@\nSomeUniqueID$@@;q;}'  \
      -e 'N'  \
      -e '/\nSomeUniqueID$/{;s@\nSomeUniqueID$@@;q;}'  \
      -e '/^PROMPT>\n>\n<$/d'  \
    -e '}'  \
    -e '/^SomeUniqueID$/d'

If sed had a way of handling an EOF without quitting, the
SomeUniqueID would be unnecessary.  As sed is, the SomeUniqueID
is used to avoid losing lines which start out the same as your
pattern but which do not fully match your pattern --- and which
you therefore want to keep.

Cheers,

= Joe =
Joe Grace
ARPA: jgrace@bbn.com
UUCP: {harvard,husc6,decvax,etc.}!bbn!jgrace



Path: arizona!rupley
From: rupley@arizona.edu (John Rupley)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: SED Question
Summary: sed not broken
Keywords: sed
Message-ID: <10191@megaron.arizona.edu>
Date: 12 Apr 89 10:47:42 GMT
References: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> <38564@bbn.COM>
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson
Lines: 77


In article <38564@bbn.COM>, jgrace@bbn.com (Joe Grace) writes:
> In article <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> smaxwell@hpcuhc.HP.COM (Susan Maxwell) writes:
> >Got a sed question for you:  I'm creating a sed filter to mask out and
> >delete unwanted characters in a trace file.  I'm having trouble with this
> >configuration:
> >        LINE I:    PROMPT>
> >        LINE I+1:  >
> >        LINE I+2:  <
> >Whenever I see this series, I want to delete ALL THREE lines.  I can't
> >create a pattern /PROMPT\>\\n\>\\n\</d   as far as I can tell, because
> >sed won't allow patterns to span lines.  Is there a way to do this, without
> >resorting to awk or ed?   
> 
> Yes, there is a way to get sed to do this, but you have to be
> wary of sed's shortcomings.
> 
> Try:
> ----
> #! /bin/sh
> 
> (cat trace.out;  echo "SomeUniqueID")  \
> | sed  \
>     -e '/^PROMPT>$/{'  \
>       -e 'N'  \
>       -e '/\nSomeUniqueID$/{;s@\nSomeUniqueID$@@;q;}'  \
>       -e 'N'  \
>       -e '/\nSomeUniqueID$/{;s@\nSomeUniqueID$@@;q;}'  \
>       -e '/^PROMPT>\n>\n<$/d'  \
>     -e '}'  \
>     -e '/^SomeUniqueID$/d'
> 
> If sed had a way of handling an EOF without quitting, the
               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> SomeUniqueID would be unnecessary.  As sed is, the SomeUniqueID
> is used to avoid losing lines which start out the same as your
> pattern but which do not fully match your pattern --- and which
> you therefore want to keep.

Sed can check for EOF, I believe, and fairly simply, by use of the
address "$", for last line of file.  The following script should take
care of the last line problem, as well as some additional but probably
not all other abnormalities. 

sed -e '/^PROMPT>$/{
	: restart
	/^PROMPT>$/{
		h
		$q
		N
		/^PROMPT>\n>$/{
			h
			$q
			N
			/^PROMPT>\n>\n<$/d
			x
			p
			x
			s/^PROMPT>\n>\n//
			b restart
		}
		x
		p
		x
		s/^PROMPT>\n//
		b restart
	}
}'


John Rupley
 uucp: ..{uunet | ucbvax | cmcl2 | hao!ncar!noao}!arizona!rupley!local
 internet: rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu
 (H) 30 Calle Belleza, Tucson AZ 85716 - (602) 325-4533
 (O) Dept. Biochemistry, Univ. Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721 - (602) 621-3929




From local Wed Apr 12 03:59 MST 1989
To: local
Subject: Re: SED question
Status: RO


The following is a posting, in reply to a reply to yours.  Not sure
if the frills are needed, but the last line problem may be of interest.
Incidentally, I think two lines of Lex source would do what you want:
	%%
	PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;
	.*|\n			ECHO;

Regards,
John R.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[delete of repeat of above posting]

John Rupley
 uucp: ..{uunet | ucbvax | cmcl2 | hao!ncar!noao}!arizona!rupley!local
 internet: rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu
 (H) 30 Calle Belleza, Tucson AZ 85716 - (602) 325-4533
 (O) Dept. Biochemistry, Univ. Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721 - (602) 621-3929




>From jgrace@BBN.COM Wed Apr 12 09:40:46 1989
Message-Id: <8904121640.AA25488@megaron.arizona.edu>
Received: from GOVERNMENT-CENTER.BBN.COM by megaron.arizona.edu (5.59-1.7/15) via SMTP
	id AA25488; Wed, 12 Apr 89 09:40:00 MST
To: rupley@arizona.edu
Subject: Re: SED Question
Newsgroups: comp.editors
In-Reply-To: <10191@megaron.arizona.edu>
References: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> <38564@bbn.COM>
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 89 12:21:38 -0400
From: jgrace@BBN.COM
Status: R

John,

you're right.  I plead guilty to Bugs and Ignorance.
Thanks for the "$" tip.

= Joe =

-- 
Joe Grace
ARPA: jgrace@bbn.com
UUCP: {harvard,husc6,decvax,etc.}!bbn!jgrace



Path: arizona!noao!ncar!unmvax!pprg.unm.edu!hc!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!hp4nl!botter!star.cs.vu.nl!maart
From: maart@cs.vu.nl (Maarten Litmaath)
Newsgroups: comp.editors,comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re^2: SED Question
Keywords: sed, improvement, fix
Message-ID: <2292@solo11.cs.vu.nl>
Date: 12 Apr 89 21:03:59 GMT
References: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> <38564@bbn.COM>
Organization: V.U. Informatica, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Lines: 33
Xref: arizona comp.editors:890 comp.unix.questions:14112

jgrace@bbn.com (Joe Grace) writes:
\...
\Yes, there is a way to get sed to do this, but you have to be
\wary of sed's shortcomings.

[shell script workaround deleted]

\If sed had a way of handling an EOF without quitting, the
\[workaround would be unnecessary] [...]

My first sed attempt can easily be fixed to handle partial matches at EOF
properly:

sed -n '
        /^PROMPT>$/{
		$p
                h
                n
                H
                /^>$/{
			$b eof
                        n
                        /^<$/b
                        H
                }
		: eof
                g
        }
        p
'
-- 
 "If it isn't aesthetically pleasing, |Maarten Litmaath @ VU Amsterdam:
  it's probably wrong." (jim@bilpin). |maart@cs.vu.nl, mcvax!botter!maart



Path: arizona!noao!ncar!unmvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!hp4nl!philmds!leo
From: leo@philmds.UUCP (Leo de Wit)
Newsgroups: comp.editors,comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Re^2: SED Question
Keywords: sed, improvement, fix
Message-ID: <1003@philmds.UUCP>
Date: 13 Apr 89 22:00:08 GMT
References: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> <38564@bbn.COM> <2292@solo11.cs.vu.nl>
Reply-To: leo@philmds.UUCP (Leo de Wit)
Organization: Philips I&E DTS Eindhoven
Lines: 54
Xref: arizona comp.editors:893 comp.unix.questions:14149

In article <2292@solo11.cs.vu.nl> maart@cs.vu.nl (Maarten Litmaath) writes:
    []
|My first sed attempt can easily be fixed to handle partial matches at EOF
|properly:
|
|sed -n '
|        /^PROMPT>$/{
|		$p
|                h
|                n
|                H
|                /^>$/{
|			$b eof
|                        n
|                        /^<$/b
|                        H
|                }
|		: eof
|                g
|        }
|        p
|'

I think you'll need a third attempt 8-). It still doesn't handle correct
a series of lines like 

      PROMPT>
      PROMPT>
      >
      <

or one like

      PROMPT>
      >
      PROMPT>
      >
      <

Alternative:

sed -n '
: start
$p
$q
N
/^PROMPT>\n>\n<$/d
/\n[^\n]*\n/{
    P
    D
}
b start'

    Leo.



Path: arizona!rupley
From: rupley@arizona.edu (John Rupley)
Newsgroups: comp.editors,comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Re^2: SED Question
Summary: need restart loop
Keywords: sed, improvement, fix
Message-ID: <10244@megaron.arizona.edu>
Date: 14 Apr 89 02:14:07 GMT
References: <2360001@hpcuhc.HP.COM> <38564@bbn.COM> <2292@solo11.cs.vu.nl>
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson
Lines: 67
Xref: arizona comp.editors:892 comp.unix.questions:14135


In article <2292@solo11.cs.vu.nl>, maart@cs.vu.nl (Maarten Litmaath) writes:
> jgrace@bbn.com (Joe Grace) writes:

[the problem is to delete all three-line sequences:
		PROMPT>
		>
		<
]

> \...
> \Yes, there is a way to get sed to do this, but you have to be
> \wary of sed's shortcomings.
> 
> [shell script workaround deleted]
> 
> \If sed had a way of handling an EOF without quitting, the
> \[workaround would be unnecessary] [...]
> 
> My first sed attempt can easily be fixed to handle partial matches at EOF
> properly:

[sed script deleted]

Neat script (of course), but it still fails with a partial sequence
followed by a proper sequence, such as:

		PROMPT>
		>
		PROMPT>
		>
		<

The ``restart'' loop below takes care of it:

sed -n '
	: restart
	/^PROMPT>$/{
		h
		$p
		n
		/^>$/{
			H
			${x;p;}
			n
			/^<$/d
		}
		x
		p
		x
		b restart
	}
	p
'

BTW -- the following one line Lex source does it all:

%%
PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;

and its hard to get the logic wrong (:-)!


John Rupley
rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu



From uucp Sat Apr 15 03:59 MST 1989
>From rupley  Sat Apr 15 02:59:55 1989 remote from arizona
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 89 02:59:55 MST
From: "John Rupley" <arizona!rupley>
Message-Id: <8904150959.AA05764@megaron.arizona.edu>
Received: by megaron.arizona.edu (5.59-1.7/15)
	id AA05764; Sat, 15 Apr 89 02:59:55 MST
To: bellcore!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
Subject: Re: SED question
Cc: rupley!local
Status: RO

> I think I may have missed a posting or two on this topic.  Could someone
> please tell me why the following does not handle the problem:
> 
> cat myfile | sed -e '/^PROMPT>$/,/^<$/d'

The original posting is the first of the references listed in your
posting.

The obvious solution above wouldn't handle:

PROMPT>
one or more lines of stuff
PROMPT>
>
<

where only the three-line sequence should be deleted.  

Regardless of what the original poster wanted, the responders have
amused themselves (myself included) by looking for fairly rigorous sed
solutions.

Note that sed cannot beat Lex's one line solution:

%%
^PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;


John Rupley
rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu


From local Mon Apr 17 21:33 MST 1989
To: arizona!bellcore!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
Subject: SED amusement
Cc: local
Status: RO

> > Note that sed cannot beat Lex's one line solution:
> > 
> > %%
> > ^PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;
> I wonder how large a scanner that would create? :-)

Ah, but we should compare with the sed binary:

	Script started Mon Apr 17 21:14:16 1989

	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> cat jar.l
	%%
	^PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;
	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> lex jar.l; cc lex.yy.c -ll;strip a.out
	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> file a.out /bin/sed
	a.out:		iAPX286 COFF executable small model 
	/bin/sed:	iAPX286 COFF executable small model 
	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> ls -l a.out /bin/sed
	-rwxrwxr-x   1 bin      bin        20840 Oct 26  1985 /bin/sed
	-rwxrwxr-x   1 local    sys        10940 Apr 17 21:16 a.out
	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> 

	Script done Mon Apr 17 21:17:47 1989


So, the answer is, "half the size" :-) :-).


Regards,

John Rupley
rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu



>From mailrus!citi!bellcore!sw1e!uucibg@handies.ucar.edu Mon Apr 17 10:32:47 1989
Received: from noao.arizona.edu by megaron.arizona.edu (5.59-1.7/15) via SMTP
	id AA19530; Mon, 17 Apr 89 10:32:36 MST
Received: from handies.ucar.edu by noao.edu via SMTP (5.61/SAG.G21)
	id AA02548; Mon, 17 Apr 89 10:31:06 -0700; for rupley@arizona.edu
Received: by ncar.UCAR.EDU (5.58/1.00.UUCP-MOD.8-11-85)
	id AA08786; Mon, 17 Apr 89 11:32:41 MDT
Received: by mailrus.cc.umich.edu (5.59/1.0)
	id AA12235; Mon, 17 Apr 89 08:20:03 EDT
Received: by bellcore.bellcore.com (3.2/smail2.5/07-29-87)
	id AA26452; Mon, 17 Apr 89 08:18:14 EDT
From: mailrus!sw1e!uucibg@handies.ucar.edu
Received: by sw1e (5.54/1.14) 
	id AA08358; Mon, 17 Apr 89 08:14:54 CDT
Message-Id: <8904171314.AA08358@sw1e>
Subject: Re: SED question
To: uunet.uu.net!arizona!rupley%bellcore.UUCP@noao.edu (John Rupley)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 89 7:14:45 CST
In-Reply-To: <8904150959.AA05764@megaron.arizona.edu>; from "John Rupley" at Apr 15, 89 2:59 am
X-Mailer: Elm [version 2.1 beta-test PL11]
Status: R

> The obvious solution above wouldn't handle:
> 
> PROMPT>
> one or more lines of stuff
> PROMPT>
> >
> <
> 
> where only the three-line sequence should be deleted.  
Ahhh, I see.  Thanks.  I missed the issue of multiple occurances of
"PROMPT>" before a matching "<".

> 
> Regardless of what the original poster wanted, the responders have
> amused themselves (myself included) by looking for fairly rigorous sed
> solutions.
:-)

> Note that sed cannot beat Lex's one line solution:
> 
> %%
> ^PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;
I wonder how large a scanner that would create? :-)


> John Rupley
> rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu

Thanks,
Brian R. Gilstrap                          Southwestern Bell Telephone
One Bell Center Rm 17-G-4                  ...!ames!killer!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
St. Louis, MO 63101                        ...!bellcore!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
(314) 235-3929
#include <std_disclaimers.h>



Path: arizona!noao!ncar!unmvax!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!oliveb!sun!twinpeaks!jackh
From: jackh%twinpeaks@Sun.COM (John Hevelin)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: SED Question
Message-ID: <99289@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 17 Apr 89 06:38:55 GMT
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
Reply-To: jackh@sun.UUCP (John Hevelin)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
Lines: 28

This works for me.  Put the following in a script
and call with "sed -f script file"


/PROMPT>/ {
N
/PROMPT>\n[^>]/ {
P
D
p
b
}
/PROMPT>\n>/ {
N
/PROMPT>\n>\n[^<]/ {
P
D
P
D
p
b
}
/PROMPT>\n>\n</ {
s/\n//g
d
}
}
}



Path: arizona!noao!ncar!gatech!ukma!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!agate!violet.berkeley.edu!merlin
From: merlin@violet.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: SED Question
Message-ID: <23224@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 18 Apr 89 00:44:04 GMT
Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: merlin@violet.berkeley.edu ()
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 20


I think this does it (script run with "-f"):

/PROMPT>/ {
$b eof
N
$b eof
N
/PROMPT>\n>\n</ {
d
b
}
p
d
}
b
: eof
p
d
q



Path: arizona!rupley
From: rupley@arizona.edu (John Rupley)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: SED Question
Summary: no cigar
Message-ID: <10332@megaron.arizona.edu>
Date: 18 Apr 89 06:23:11 GMT
References: <23224@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson
Lines: 44


In article <23224@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, merlin@violet.berkeley.edu writes:
> I think this does it (script run with "-f"):
> 
> /PROMPT>/ {
> $b eof
> N
> $b eof
> N
> /PROMPT>\n>\n</ {
> d
> b
> }
> p
> d
> }
> b
> : eof
> p
> d
> q

No cigar - try:

xxxPROMPT>
>
<
PROMPT>
>
PROMPT>
>
<

The script deletes what it shouldn't and doesn't what it should.

At least three previous postings give apparently correct solutions.

John Rupley
rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu






Path: arizona!rupley
From: rupley@arizona.edu (John Rupley)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: SED Question
Summary: buggy?
Message-ID: <10336@megaron.arizona.edu>
Date: 18 Apr 89 06:36:22 GMT
References: <99289@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson
Lines: 30


In article <99289@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>, jackh@sun.UUCP (John Hevelin) writes:
> This works for me.  Put the following in a script
> and call with "sed -f script file"

[sed script deleted] 

Seems like a buggy script -- for starters try it on:

xxxPROMPT>
>
<
PROMPT>
>
PROMPT>
>
<
testing22
PROMPT>
>

Several previous postings handle such oddities, as does the Lex one-liner:

%%
^PROMPT>\n>\n<\n		;

John Rupley
rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu




From uucp Tue Apr 18 09:59 MST 1989
>From uucibg@sw1e.swbt.com  Tue Apr 18 06:16:57 1989 remote from arizona
Received: from noao.arizona.edu by megaron.arizona.edu (5.59-1.7/15) via SMTP
	id AA20898; Tue, 18 Apr 89 06:16:57 MST
Received: from handies.ucar.edu by noao.edu via SMTP (5.61/SAG.G21)
	id AA17287; Tue, 18 Apr 89 06:15:31 -0700; for rupley!local@arizona.edu
From: arizona!uucibg@sw1e.swbt.com
Received: by ncar.UCAR.EDU (5.58/1.00.UUCP-MOD.8-11-85)
	id AA00419; Tue, 18 Apr 89 07:17:10 MDT
Received: from bellcore.UUCP by rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.1/3.04) with UUCP 
	id AA12423; Tue, 18 Apr 89 08:44:01 EDT
Received: by bellcore.bellcore.com (3.2/smail2.5/07-29-87)
	id AA21302; Tue, 18 Apr 89 08:31:03 EDT
Received: by sw1e (5.54/1.14) 
	id AA13003; Tue, 18 Apr 89 08:28:58 CDT
Message-Id: <8904181328.AA13003@sw1e>
Subject: Re: SED amusement
To: noao!arizona!rupley!local%ncar.UUCP@noao.edu
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 89 7:28:54 CST
In-Reply-To: <8904180437.AA03056@megaron.arizona.edu>; from "rupley!local" at Apr 17, 89 9:37 pm
X-Mailer: Elm [version 2.1 beta-test PL11]
Status: RO

> Ah, but we should compare with the sed binary:
> 	-rwxrwxr-x   1 bin      bin        20840 Oct 26  1985 /bin/sed
> 	-rwxrwxr-x   1 local    sys        10940 Apr 17 21:16 a.out
> 	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> 
> 
> So, the answer is, "half the size" :-) :-).
Until you need a second quick-and-dirty utility :-) :-) :) :) :) (oh no! they're
gremlinizing!)...

> Regards,
> John Rupley
> rupley!local@megaron.arizona.edu




From local Tue Apr 18 21:53 MST 1989
To: arizona!bellcore!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
Subject: Re: ;-)....gremlins!
Cc: local
Status: RO

> Until you need a second quick-and-dirty utility :-) :-) :) :) :) (oh no! they're
> gremlinizing!)...

But you left out the most important lines of the script in the last email:

	Script started Mon Apr 17 21:14:16 1989
	...                       ^^^^^^^
	$ rup-local:/usr/local/unix/test/SED> lex jar.l; cc lex.yy.c -ll;strip a.out
	...
	Script done Mon Apr 17 21:17:47 1989
                               ^^^^^^^^
Clearly, it is easier, and faster, to write _and compile_ a quick and dirty
Lex one-liner than to get the logic right on a sed script for a multi-line
match (even Maarten Litmaath got it wrong the first try, for this problem).
(:-?....I agree, no gremlins)

Truly, I use Lex for certain pattern-matching problems, just because it
_is_ so easy.  I use sed and awk more, but not if there is a
straightforward Lex solution, which is likely if the problem is a
multiline match.  Sed and awk are line based, Lex is character-stream
based.  To each its own.

Cheers,

John Rupley




Brian R. Gilstrap
...!ames!killer!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
...!bellcore!texbell!sw1e!uucibg
(314) 235-3929

From uucp Wed Apr 19 09:57 MST 1989
>From uucibg@sw1e.swbt.com  Wed Apr 19 05:46:42 1989 remote from arizona
Received: from noao.arizona.edu by megaron.arizona.edu (5.59-1.7/15) via SMTP
	id AA29370; Wed, 19 Apr 89 05:46:42 MST
Received: from handies.ucar.edu by noao.edu via SMTP (5.61/SAG.G21)
	id AA03803; Wed, 19 Apr 89 05:45:35 -0700; for rupley!local@arizona.edu
From: arizona!uucibg@sw1e.swbt.com
Received: by ncar.UCAR.EDU (5.58/1.00.UUCP-MOD.8-11-85)
	id AA02682; Wed, 19 Apr 89 06:47:11 MDT
Received: from bellcore.UUCP by rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.1/3.04) with UUCP 
	id AA16423; Wed, 19 Apr 89 08:40:28 EDT
Received: by bellcore.bellcore.com (3.2/smail2.5/07-29-87)
	id AA14880; Wed, 19 Apr 89 08:20:50 EDT
Received: by sw1e (5.54/1.14) 
	id AA06634; Wed, 19 Apr 89 08:18:50 CDT
Message-Id: <8904191318.AA06634@sw1e>
Subject: Re: ;-)....gremlins!
To: noao!arizona!rupley!local%ncar.UUCP@noao.edu
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 89 7:18:38 CST
In-Reply-To: <8904190457.AA11473@megaron.arizona.edu>; from "rupley!local" at Apr 18, 89 9:57 pm
X-Mailer: Elm [version 2.1 beta-test PL11]
Status: R

> But you left out the most important lines of the script in the last email:
> 	Script started Mon Apr 17 21:14:16 1989
> 	...                       ^^^^^^^
> 	Script done Mon Apr 17 21:17:47 1989
>                                ^^^^^^^^
> Clearly, it is easier, and faster, to write _and compile_ a quick and dirty
> Lex one-liner than to get the logic right on a sed script for a multi-line
> match (even Maarten Litmaath got it wrong the first try, for this problem).
> (:-?....I agree, no gremlins)
> 
> Truly, I use Lex for certain pattern-matching problems, just because it
> _is_ so easy.  I use sed and awk more, but not if there is a
> straightforward Lex solution, which is likely if the problem is a
> multiline match.  Sed and awk are line based, Lex is character-stream
> based.  To each its own.

Good point.  Especially since time is the thing I have the least of (in fact,
it seems to be in inverse to the number of ideas I have for some reason... :-)

> Cheers,
> John Rupley

Live long and prosper,
Brian Gilstrap