sed: unterminated s command from bash script

Question

This exact code was working in another script. I copied the function over and now it keeps giving the unterminated 's' command error.

sed "
        s@<%BRANCH-NAME%>@${_loc_name}@g
        s@<%BRANCH-ADDR%>@${_loc_strt}@g
        s@<%BRANCH-CTY%>@${_loc_city}@g
        s@<%CUST-NAME%>@${_pat_name}@g
        s@<%CUST-ADDR%>@${_pat_addr}@
        s@<%CUST-CTY%>@${_pat_city}@
        s@<%BARCODE%>@${_barcode}@g
        s@<%DATE%>@${_date}@
        s@<%TITLE%>@${_title}@
        s@<%AUTHOR%>@${_auth}@
        s@<%PRICE%>@${_price}@" "$_template"

In response to requests for possible values:

These are huge files and this function is in a for loop. I use it to format forms for mailing. More info here: BASH: importing data from flat file into template

So this function worked for certain directories but I've hit a snag with this recent one.

I grepped for slash characters on the advice of kev below ...none found except '/'. Possibly 'silent' newlines.

find ./ -name "mail.TMP" -type f -exec grep -E '\n' {} \;

possible values would be things like:

${pat_name}

Hermann Hesse c/o His Mother

${loc_name}

Pandora SR home c/o Harmony City Hall

So ...maybe it's a quoting issue?

Do any of your `${_loc_name}`, `${_loc_strt}`, etc. variables contain an `@` character? — Keith Thompson, Jan 11 '12 at 22:04
Is this a `sed` script or are you using it inside regular `bash` script? If it is a `sed` script then you don't need `sed` and the `quotes`. If it is inside regular script then you need to add option `-e`. — jaypal singh, Jan 11 '12 at 22:16
@JaypalSingh: No, you don't need `-e`; `sed s/this/that/` is equivalent to `sed -e s/this/that/`. (The `-e` option is probably necessary in some ambiguous cases, but this isn't one of them.) And the question title says it's a bash script. — Keith Thompson, Jan 11 '12 at 22:59
@KeithThompson You're right!! Sorry about that. Then as you stated in the comments earlier, it could be that variable has `@` which is throwing it off. — jaypal singh, Jan 11 '12 at 23:03
I'm changing command characters around and still getting these errors. — Bubnoff, Jan 12 '12 at 00:29
How would you quote this? Is there a better way with strings with spaces? — Bubnoff, Jan 12 '12 at 00:30

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 12 '12 at 01:19

1

$ _loc_name=$'xxx\nyyy'
$ echo '<%BRANCH-NAME%>' | sed "s@<%BRANCH-NAME%>@${_loc_name}@g"
sed: -e expression #1, char 21: unterminated `s' command

Does any $var contain newline? Please echo them all to check.

$ echo "$_loc_name"
xxx
yyy

answered Jan 12 '12 at 01:19

kev

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I believe that's the issue ...though it's actually a name field eg.,. These are massive files --- is there a way to – Bubnoff Jan 12 '12 at 02:09
As I was saying --- is there a way to quote around this? – Bubnoff Jan 12 '12 at 02:22
2

I see two articles that talk about stripping white space from a variable (which may help you): [article 1](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/369758/how-to-trim-whitespace-from-bash-variable) and [article 2](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/324167/remove-whitespace-from-bash-variable). Are these replacement variables read in from some file? If so, article 1 might be what you want. – Jonah Bishop Jan 12 '12 at 03:02
@JonahBishop - Dude, I think you're right about white space. I'm using the IFS to push this through a for loop -- specifically mentioned in the article you mention. Wil;l lokk at this more closely tomorrow. Thanks! – Bubnoff Jan 12 '12 at 03:54

sed: unterminated s command from bash script

1 Answers1