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Related, `sd` is a great utility worth the install which makes simple sed-type operations more obvious / easier (for some value of easy). https://github.com/ch

Related, `sd` is a great utility worth the install which makes simple sed-type operations more obvious / easier (for some value of easy). https://github.com/chmln/sd https://github.com/chmln/sd

oguz-ismail 2y ago
It uses a different syntax though. Hardly worth anyone's time
- Etheryte 2y ago
  Not sure if I agree. Sed is widely known and much of the value comes from that, just being around for a long while, but I wouldn't really say that the syntax is all that straightforward. As a thought experiment, try explaining how to use sed to a fresh graduate who's never seen it. Not saying sd is better or anything, but rather that just because the syntax is different doesn't make it bad.
  - oguz-ismail 2y ago
    sed is widely known because it's available everywhere and is used in every shell script. I just don't see the point in learning a new utility that does the same thing as sed but with different syntax. In this case the new utility doesn't even honor my language settings and just errors out if I enter a non-English letter. It's ridiculous
    - wolletd 2y ago
      How? Shouldn't it just all be UTF-8? Or do you use a different encoding on your system?
  - wolletd 2y ago
    > try explaining how to use sed to a fresh graduate who's never seen it Well, for starters, you just `s/<regex>/<replacement>/` and try to use that in your everyday work. Just forget about the syntax. It's a search-and-replace tool. That's the only way I used sed for years. I've learned more since then, but it's still the command I use the most. And that's also what `sd` focuses on. Also, if you want to replace newlines, just use `tr`, to hook onto the examples of sd. It may seem annoying to use a different tool, but there are two major advantages: 1. you're learning about the existence, capabilities and limitations of more tools 2. both `sed` and `tr` are probably available in your next shitty embedded busybox-driven device, while `sd` probably is not As you said, the value comes from being around for a long time and, probably more importantly, still being present on nearly any Unix-like system.
  - ta1243 2y ago
    99% of the time I use sed to mangle the output of a text file into something else. Earlier I did this cat as1 | grep " 65" | sed -e 's/.* 0 65/65/' -e 's/[^ 0-9]//' |sort|uniq Now some twat will come along and say my process should have been cat as1 grep " 65" as1 grep " 65" as1 | sed -e (various different tries to the data looks useful) grep " 65" as1 | sed -e (options) | sort|uniq Because otherwise it's a "useless use of cat" and reformatting my line is well worth the time and cognitive load to save those extra forks.
    - Etheryte 2y ago
      I think the concept of useless use of cat is one of the few things I strongly disagree with in software development. Most things have their trade-offs, pros and cons, but using cat to start a pipe makes everything composable and easy to work with, it's pretty much universally good. The moment you drop it because of the small redundancy, you have to make sure you don't mess up the params for whatever comes next, and that overhead is in my opinion never worth what you gain by dropping cat.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - keybored 2y ago
      “Useless use of cat” is really “useless interjection and waste of a comment”.
- GolDDranks 2y ago
  sd has very much proven to be worth of my time. It's both faster and way easier to use.
- keybored 2y ago
  Middle-brow dismissal. Hardly worth anyone’s consideration. Just go straight to the point that this isn’t available on a proprietary Unix that had its EOL fifteen years ago and that five people still use.
  - oguz-ismail 2y ago
    >this isn’t available on a proprietary Unix Skill issue. It's not necessary in the first place anyway
ReleaseCandidat 2y ago
As soon as there is a _complete_ regex reference in the readme, it may be worth a try. The main problem with _any_ regex tool or programming language or ... is the subtle and not so subtle differences between the various regex implementations - like the "normal" and "extended" mode of sed. This phrase: sd uses regex syntax that you already know from JavaScript and Python. says it all. I still haven't found a better short overview of various regex engines than that: https://web.archive.org/web/20130830063653/http://www.regular-expressions.info:80/refflavors.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130830063653/http://www.regula...
- ptman 2y ago
  Indeed. It's different from Python, maybe JavaScript as well. https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax
gregwebs 2y ago
There’s also sad that let’s you review find and replace changes to files before making them: https://github.com/ms-jpq/sad https://github.com/ms-jpq/sad
- pimlottc 2y ago
  I had to re-read your post a few times before I realized that “sad” is the name of the program

Related, `sd` is a great utility worth the install which makes simple sed-type operations more obvious / easier (for some value of easy). https://github.com/chmln/sd https://github.com/chmln/sd

oguz-ismail 2y ago

It uses a different syntax though. Hardly worth anyone's time

Etheryte 2y ago
Not sure if I agree. Sed is widely known and much of the value comes from that, just being around for a long while, but I wouldn't really say that the syntax is all that straightforward. As a thought experiment, try explaining how to use sed to a fresh graduate who's never seen it. Not saying sd is better or anything, but rather that just because the syntax is different doesn't make it bad.
- oguz-ismail 2y ago
  sed is widely known because it's available everywhere and is used in every shell script. I just don't see the point in learning a new utility that does the same thing as sed but with different syntax. In this case the new utility doesn't even honor my language settings and just errors out if I enter a non-English letter. It's ridiculous
  - wolletd 2y ago
    How? Shouldn't it just all be UTF-8? Or do you use a different encoding on your system?
- wolletd 2y ago
  > try explaining how to use sed to a fresh graduate who's never seen it Well, for starters, you just `s/<regex>/<replacement>/` and try to use that in your everyday work. Just forget about the syntax. It's a search-and-replace tool. That's the only way I used sed for years. I've learned more since then, but it's still the command I use the most. And that's also what `sd` focuses on. Also, if you want to replace newlines, just use `tr`, to hook onto the examples of sd. It may seem annoying to use a different tool, but there are two major advantages: 1. you're learning about the existence, capabilities and limitations of more tools 2. both `sed` and `tr` are probably available in your next shitty embedded busybox-driven device, while `sd` probably is not As you said, the value comes from being around for a long time and, probably more importantly, still being present on nearly any Unix-like system.
- ta1243 2y ago
  99% of the time I use sed to mangle the output of a text file into something else. Earlier I did this cat as1 | grep " 65" | sed -e 's/.* 0 65/65/' -e 's/[^ 0-9]//' |sort|uniq Now some twat will come along and say my process should have been cat as1 grep " 65" as1 grep " 65" as1 | sed -e (various different tries to the data looks useful) grep " 65" as1 | sed -e (options) | sort|uniq Because otherwise it's a "useless use of cat" and reformatting my line is well worth the time and cognitive load to save those extra forks.
  - Etheryte 2y ago
    I think the concept of useless use of cat is one of the few things I strongly disagree with in software development. Most things have their trade-offs, pros and cons, but using cat to start a pipe makes everything composable and easy to work with, it's pretty much universally good. The moment you drop it because of the small redundancy, you have to make sure you don't mess up the params for whatever comes next, and that overhead is in my opinion never worth what you gain by dropping cat.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - keybored 2y ago
    “Useless use of cat” is really “useless interjection and waste of a comment”.
GolDDranks 2y ago
sd has very much proven to be worth of my time. It's both faster and way easier to use.
keybored 2y ago
Middle-brow dismissal. Hardly worth anyone’s consideration. Just go straight to the point that this isn’t available on a proprietary Unix that had its EOL fifteen years ago and that five people still use.
- oguz-ismail 2y ago
  >this isn’t available on a proprietary Unix Skill issue. It's not necessary in the first place anyway

ReleaseCandidat 2y ago

As soon as there is a _complete_ regex reference in the readme, it may be worth a try. The main problem with _any_ regex tool or programming language or ... is the subtle and not so subtle differences between the various regex implementations - like the "normal" and "extended" mode of sed. This phrase: sd uses regex syntax that you already know from JavaScript and Python. says it all. I still haven't found a better short overview of various regex engines than that: https://web.archive.org/web/20130830063653/http://www.regular-expressions.info:80/refflavors.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130830063653/http://www.regula...

ptman 2y ago
Indeed. It's different from Python, maybe JavaScript as well. https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax

gregwebs 2y ago

There’s also sad that let’s you review find and replace changes to files before making them: https://github.com/ms-jpq/sad https://github.com/ms-jpq/sad

pimlottc 2y ago
I had to re-read your post a few times before I realized that “sad” is the name of the program