There are 3rd party command line utilities that can be used to edit text files, and some like gnu sed are free. But some work environments do not allow installation of downloaded executables.
Here is a simple hybrid JScript/Batch script that applies regex search and replace to lines from stdin and writes the result to stdout. It is surprisingly powerful, and performance is pretty good as well.
The whole thing could have been written as straight JScript, but I wanted the convenience of using the script without having to explicitly call CSCRIPT.
Full documentation is embedded within the script. The built in /? help option uses the script to extract and display the documentation on the screen :
It's amazing how much functionality can be provided with such a small amount of code. It can even be used to process binary files, including 0x00 bytes, if the M option is used. The M option loads the entire contents of stdin into a variable, so I think its theoretical limit is 2GByte, though I don't recommend testing that
Multiple search and replace operations may be performed by chaining multiple REPL operations via successive pipes.
Here is a trivial demonstration of how easy it is to edit a text file, replacing all occurrences of the the word red with blue.
Code: Select all
@echo off
type test.txt | repl "\bred\b" "blue" >test.txt.new
move test.txt.new test.txt
REPL can also be used to search and replace the value of a variable. Here I substitute a tab character for all commas.
Code: Select all
@echo off
setlocal
set str=a,b,c
for /f "delims=" %%A in ('repl "," "\t" xs str') do set "str=%%A"
set str
And finally, here is the actual script (REPL.BAT) that does all the work:
Edit 2013-04-13: I renamed the E environment variable option to V, and added new options B and E to allow literal searches to match the beginning and/or end of a line, respectively.
Edit 2013-06-28: I added the A option that only prints out lines that have been altered
Edit 2013-06-29: I extended the X option to support \q as a representation of a double quote. Also, the Search string now supports all the extended escape sequences when both X and L are specified.
Edit 2013-10-02: \xnn now properly represents the extended ASCII byte code when the X option is used. Also added the /V option to print out the current version.
Edit 2014-03-02: Added credits to documentation and updated version to 3.2
Edit 2014-04-94: Version 3.3 - The A option can now be used with M if S is also used. New help options /?REGEX and /?REPLACE launch Microsoft documentation in your browser.
Edit 2014-07-28: Version 4.0 - Added the N option to enable working with binary files contain NULL bytes.
Edit 2014-07-30: Version 4.1 - Removed the N option. Modified M option to always work properly with binary files. Also improved performance of binary files
Edit 2014-10-28: Version 5.0 - Refined and documented the return codes. You can now tell if REPL made a change to the data
Edit 2014-11-07: Version 6.0 - Added the J option to specify the replacement value as a JScript expression
Edit 2014-11-07: Version 6.1 - JScript expressions may reference abbreviations $0 - $10 for arguments $[0] - $[10]
Edit 2014-11-11: Version 6.2 - Bug fix - don't escape $ in Replace if J option is used. Also, corrected description of A option
Code: Select all
@if (@X)==(@Y) @end /* Harmless hybrid line that begins a JScript comment
::************ Documentation ***********
::REPL.BAT version 6.2
:::
:::REPL Search Replace [Options [SourceVar]]
:::REPL /?[REGEX|REPLACE]
:::REPL /V
:::
::: Performs a global regular expression search and replace operation on
::: each line of input from stdin and prints the result to stdout.
:::
::: Each parameter may be optionally enclosed by double quotes. The double
::: quotes are not considered part of the argument. The quotes are required
::: if the parameter contains a batch token delimiter like space, tab, comma,
::: semicolon. The quotes should also be used if the argument contains a
::: batch special character like &, |, etc. so that the special character
::: does not need to be escaped with ^.
:::
::: If called with a single argument of /?, then prints help documentation
::: to stdout. If a single argument of /?REGEX, then opens up Microsoft's
::: JScript regular expression documentation within your browser. If a single
::: argument of /?REPLACE, then opens up Microsoft's JScript REPLACE
::: documentation within your browser.
:::
::: If called with a single argument of /V, case insensitive, then prints
::: the version of REPL.BAT.
:::
::: Search - By default, this is a case sensitive JScript (ECMA) regular
::: expression expressed as a string.
:::
::: JScript regex syntax documentation is available at
::: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ae5bf541(v=vs.80).aspx
:::
::: Replace - By default, this is the string to be used as a replacement for
::: each found search expression. Full support is provided for
::: substituion patterns available to the JScript replace method.
:::
::: For example, $& represents the portion of the source that matched
::: the entire search pattern, $1 represents the first captured
::: submatch, $2 the second captured submatch, etc. A $ literal
::: can be escaped as $$.
:::
::: An empty replacement string must be represented as "".
:::
::: Replace substitution pattern syntax is fully documented at
::: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/efy6s3e6(v=vs.80).aspx
:::
::: Options - An optional string of characters used to alter the behavior
::: of REPL. The option characters are case insensitive, and may
::: appear in any order.
:::
::: A - Only print altered lines. Unaltered lines are discarded.
::: If the S options is present, then prints the result only if
::: there was a change anywhere in the string. The A option is
::: incompatible with the M option unless the S option is present.
:::
::: B - The Search must match the beginning of a line.
::: Mostly used with literal searches.
:::
::: E - The Search must match the end of a line.
::: Mostly used with literal searches.
:::
::: I - Makes the search case-insensitive.
:::
::: J - The Replace argument represents a JScript expression.
::: The expression may access an array like arguments object
::: named $. However, $ is not a true array object.
:::
::: The $.length property contains the total number of arguments
::: available. The $.length value is equal to n+3, where n is the
::: number of capturing left parentheses within the Search string.
:::
::: $[0] is the substring that matched the Search,
::: $[1] through $[n] are the captured submatch strings,
::: $[n+1] is the offset where the match occurred, and
::: $[n+2] is the original source string.
:::
::: Arguments $[0] through $[10] may be abbreviated as
::: $1 through $10. Argument $[11] and above must use the square
::: bracket notation.
:::
::: L - The Search is treated as a string literal instead of a
::: regular expression. Also, all $ found in the Replace string
::: are treated as $ literals.
:::
::: M - Multi-line mode. The entire contents of stdin is read and
::: processed in one pass instead of line by line, thus enabling
::: search for \n. This also enables preservation of the original
::: line terminators. If the M option is not present, then every
::: printed line is terminated with carriage return and line feed.
::: The M option is incompatible with the A option unless the S
::: option is also present.
:::
::: Note: If working with binary data containing NULL bytes,
::: then the M option must be used.
:::
::: S - The source is read from an environment variable instead of
::: from stdin. The name of the source environment variable is
::: specified in the next argument after the option string. Without
::: the M option, ^ anchors the beginning of the string, and $ the
::: end of the string. With the M option, ^ anchors the beginning
::: of a line, and $ the end of a line.
:::
::: V - Search and Replace represent the name of environment
::: variables that contain the respective values. An undefined
::: variable is treated as an empty string.
:::
::: X - Enables extended substitution pattern syntax with support
::: for the following escape sequences within the Replace string:
:::
::: \\ - Backslash
::: \b - Backspace
::: \f - Formfeed
::: \n - Newline
::: \q - Quote
::: \r - Carriage Return
::: \t - Horizontal Tab
::: \v - Vertical Tab
::: \xnn - Extended ASCII byte code expressed as 2 hex digits
::: \unnnn - Unicode character expressed as 4 hex digits
:::
::: Also enables the \q escape sequence for the Search string.
::: The other escape sequences are already standard for a regular
::: expression Search string.
:::
::: Also modifies the behavior of \xnn in the Search string to work
::: properly with extended ASCII byte codes.
:::
::: Extended escape sequences are supported even when the L option
::: is used. Both Search and Replace support all of the extended
::: escape sequences if both the X and L opions are combined.
:::
::: Return Codes: 0 = At least one change was made
::: or the /? or /V option was used
:::
::: 1 = No change was made
:::
::: 2 = Invalid call syntax or incompatible options
:::
::: 3 = JScript runtime error, typically due to invalid regex
:::
::: REPL.BAT was written by Dave Benham, with assistance from DosTips user Aacini
::: to get \xnn to work properly with extended ASCII byte codes. Also assistance
::: from DosTips user penpen diagnosing issues reading NULL bytes, along with a
::: workaround. REPL.BAT was originally posted at:
::: http://www.dostips.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3855
:::
::************ Batch portion ***********
@echo off
if .%2 equ . (
if "%~1" equ "/?" (
<"%~f0" cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0" "^:::" "" a
exit /b 0
) else if /i "%~1" equ "/?regex" (
explorer "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ae5bf541(v=vs.80).aspx"
exit /b 0
) else if /i "%~1" equ "/?replace" (
explorer "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/efy6s3e6(v=vs.80).aspx"
exit /b 0
) else if /i "%~1" equ "/V" (
<"%~f0" cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0" "^::(REPL\.BAT version)" "$1" a
exit /b 0
) else (
call :err "Insufficient arguments"
exit /b 2
)
)
echo(%~3|findstr /i "[^SMILEBVXAJ]" >nul && (
call :err "Invalid option(s)"
exit /b 2
)
echo(%~3|findstr /i "M"|findstr /i "A"|findstr /vi "S" >nul && (
call :err "Incompatible options"
exit /b 2
)
cscript //E:JScript //nologo "%~f0" %*
exit /b %errorlevel%
:err
>&2 echo ERROR: %~1. Use REPL /? to get help.
exit /b
************* JScript portion **********/
var rtn=1;
try {
var env=WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Environment("Process");
var args=WScript.Arguments;
var search=args.Item(0);
var replace=args.Item(1);
var options="g";
if (args.length>2) options+=args.Item(2).toLowerCase();
var multi=(options.indexOf("m")>=0);
var alterations=(options.indexOf("a")>=0);
if (alterations) options=options.replace(/a/g,"");
var srcVar=(options.indexOf("s")>=0);
if (srcVar) options=options.replace(/s/g,"");
var jexpr=(options.indexOf("j")>=0);
if (jexpr) options=options.replace(/j/g,"");
if (options.indexOf("v")>=0) {
options=options.replace(/v/g,"");
search=env(search);
replace=env(replace);
}
if (options.indexOf("x")>=0) {
options=options.replace(/x/g,"");
if (!jexpr) {
replace=replace.replace(/\\\\/g,"\\B");
replace=replace.replace(/\\q/g,"\"");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x80/g,"\\u20AC");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x82/g,"\\u201A");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x83/g,"\\u0192");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x84/g,"\\u201E");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x85/g,"\\u2026");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x86/g,"\\u2020");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x87/g,"\\u2021");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x88/g,"\\u02C6");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x89/g,"\\u2030");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x8[aA]/g,"\\u0160");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x8[bB]/g,"\\u2039");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x8[cC]/g,"\\u0152");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x8[eE]/g,"\\u017D");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x91/g,"\\u2018");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x92/g,"\\u2019");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x93/g,"\\u201C");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x94/g,"\\u201D");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x95/g,"\\u2022");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x96/g,"\\u2013");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x97/g,"\\u2014");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x98/g,"\\u02DC");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x99/g,"\\u2122");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x9[aA]/g,"\\u0161");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x9[bB]/g,"\\u203A");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x9[cC]/g,"\\u0153");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x9[dD]/g,"\\u009D");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x9[eE]/g,"\\u017E");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x9[fF]/g,"\\u0178");
replace=replace.replace(/\\b/g,"\b");
replace=replace.replace(/\\f/g,"\f");
replace=replace.replace(/\\n/g,"\n");
replace=replace.replace(/\\r/g,"\r");
replace=replace.replace(/\\t/g,"\t");
replace=replace.replace(/\\v/g,"\v");
replace=replace.replace(/\\x[0-9a-fA-F]{2}|\\u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}/g,
function($0,$1,$2){
return String.fromCharCode(parseInt("0x"+$0.substring(2)));
}
);
replace=replace.replace(/\\B/g,"\\");
}
search=search.replace(/\\\\/g,"\\B");
search=search.replace(/\\q/g,"\"");
search=search.replace(/\\x80/g,"\\u20AC");
search=search.replace(/\\x82/g,"\\u201A");
search=search.replace(/\\x83/g,"\\u0192");
search=search.replace(/\\x84/g,"\\u201E");
search=search.replace(/\\x85/g,"\\u2026");
search=search.replace(/\\x86/g,"\\u2020");
search=search.replace(/\\x87/g,"\\u2021");
search=search.replace(/\\x88/g,"\\u02C6");
search=search.replace(/\\x89/g,"\\u2030");
search=search.replace(/\\x8[aA]/g,"\\u0160");
search=search.replace(/\\x8[bB]/g,"\\u2039");
search=search.replace(/\\x8[cC]/g,"\\u0152");
search=search.replace(/\\x8[eE]/g,"\\u017D");
search=search.replace(/\\x91/g,"\\u2018");
search=search.replace(/\\x92/g,"\\u2019");
search=search.replace(/\\x93/g,"\\u201C");
search=search.replace(/\\x94/g,"\\u201D");
search=search.replace(/\\x95/g,"\\u2022");
search=search.replace(/\\x96/g,"\\u2013");
search=search.replace(/\\x97/g,"\\u2014");
search=search.replace(/\\x98/g,"\\u02DC");
search=search.replace(/\\x99/g,"\\u2122");
search=search.replace(/\\x9[aA]/g,"\\u0161");
search=search.replace(/\\x9[bB]/g,"\\u203A");
search=search.replace(/\\x9[cC]/g,"\\u0153");
search=search.replace(/\\x9[dD]/g,"\\u009D");
search=search.replace(/\\x9[eE]/g,"\\u017E");
search=search.replace(/\\x9[fF]/g,"\\u0178");
if (options.indexOf("l")>=0) {
search=search.replace(/\\b/g,"\b");
search=search.replace(/\\f/g,"\f");
search=search.replace(/\\n/g,"\n");
search=search.replace(/\\r/g,"\r");
search=search.replace(/\\t/g,"\t");
search=search.replace(/\\v/g,"\v");
search=search.replace(/\\x[0-9a-fA-F]{2}|\\u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}/g,
function($0,$1,$2){
return String.fromCharCode(parseInt("0x"+$0.substring(2)));
}
);
search=search.replace(/\\B/g,"\\");
} else search=search.replace(/\\B/g,"\\\\");
}
if (options.indexOf("l")>=0) {
options=options.replace(/l/g,"");
search=search.replace(/([.^$*+?()[{\\|])/g,"\\$1");
if (!jexpr) replace=replace.replace(/\$/g,"$$$$");
}
if (options.indexOf("b")>=0) {
options=options.replace(/b/g,"");
search="^"+search
}
if (options.indexOf("e")>=0) {
options=options.replace(/e/g,"");
search=search+"$"
}
var search=new RegExp(search,options);
var str1, str2;
if (srcVar) {
str1=env(args.Item(3));
str2=str1.replace(search,jexpr?replFunc:replace);
if (!alterations || str1!=str2) if (multi) {
WScript.Stdout.Write(str2);
} else {
WScript.Stdout.WriteLine(str2);
}
if (str1!=str2) rtn=0;
} else if (multi){
var buf=1024;
str1="";
while (!WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream) {
str1+=WScript.StdIn.Read(buf);
buf*=2
}
str2=str1.replace(search,jexpr?replFunc:replace);
WScript.Stdout.Write(str2);
if (str1!=str2) rtn=0;
} else {
while (!WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream) {
str1=WScript.StdIn.ReadLine();
str2=str1.replace(search,jexpr?replFunc:replace);
if (!alterations || str1!=str2) WScript.Stdout.WriteLine(str2);
if (str1!=str2) rtn=0;
}
}
} catch(e) {
WScript.Stderr.WriteLine("JScript runtime error: "+e.message);
rtn=3;
}
WScript.Quit(rtn);
function replFunc($0, $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10) {
var $=arguments;
return(eval(replace));
}
Dave Benham
