How can we replace "./." with "-1"

Question

Input:

7058    7067    7111    7186    7288    7322    7328    7373
./. ./. ./. ./. ./. 0|0 ./. 0|0
./. ./. 0|0 ./. ./. 0|0 ./. 0|0
./. ./. ./. ./. ./. 0|0 ./. 0|0
./. ./. ./. ./. ./. 0|0 ./. 1|1

Desired output:

7058    7067    7111    7186    7288    7322    7328    7373
-1  -1  -1  -1  -1  0|0 -1  0|0
-1  -1  0|0 -1  -1  0|0 -1  0|0
-1  -1  -1  -1  -1  0|0 -1  0|0
-1  -1  -1  -1  -1  0|0 -1  1|1

I have tried sed -i 's/././-1/g' File_name but it didn't work.

ntj · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-08T15:58:34.273

1

An expression for that:

sed -E 's,./.,-1,g' <(echo './.')

You can use delimiters different from /, so you don't have to escape them, . doesn't have to be excaped if you are using extended regular expressions.

Possible delimiters(there may be others):

:
_
,
|

So in your case:

sed -E -i.backup 's,./.,-1,g' File_name

, or you are able to escape .-s and /-s, but that can lead to a mess:

sed -i.backup 's/\.\/\./-1/g' File_name

Please use an extension name after the i flag to make a backup file if you're not sure about the result of the sed command.

edited Dec 08 '17 at 15:58

answered Dec 08 '17 at 15:38

ntj

171
12

1

Many thanks for this information and solution – Waqas Khokhar Dec 08 '17 at 16:52
I'm glad, but I'd be happier, if you accepted it. You can accept the answer by clicking on the pipe. An upvote would make my day better as well. – ntj Dec 09 '17 at 08:16

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 08 '17 at 15:49

0

sed -r 's:./.:-1:g' File_name

=> 7058 7067 7111 7186 7288 7322 7328 7373 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0|0 -1 0|0 -1 -1 0|0 -1 -1 0|0 -1 0|0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0|0 -1 0|0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 0|0 -1 1|1

answered Dec 08 '17 at 15:49

adc

771
4
12

1

Please provide some explanation for your solution, to make it even more clear. – Stanislav Mekhonoshin Dec 08 '17 at 16:48
Many thanks, it worked – Waqas Khokhar Dec 08 '17 at 16:52

How can we replace "./." with "-1"

2 Answers2