Here is the example:
v="1 & 2"
x="3 & 4"
echo $v | sed "s/$v/$x/"
3 1 & 2 4 <------result not replaced by 3 & 4
I want to replace 1 & 2 to 3 & 4, but seem the result given not the one I needs.
Anyone can help to fix my problem?
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I think i found the solution, add \ in x="3 \& 4", then I can obtain the result I wish...Law Hong Theng– Law Hong Theng2014-09-08 04:54:38 +00:00Commented Sep 8, 2014 at 4:54
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2 Answers
In sed & has a special meaning. It contains the entire match from the substitution part. When your replacement variable is expanded sed sees it as 3 & 4 where & contains 1 & 2. Hence you get 3 1 & 2 4 in the output.
You can escape the & to make it work.
$ v="1 & 2"
$ x="3 \& 4"
$ echo $v | sed "s/$v/$x/"
3 & 4
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The & in the replacement text is a metacharacter that means 'what was matched on the LHS of the s/// operation'.
You'll need to escape the & with a backslash.
v="1 & 2"
x="3 & 4"
y=$(echo "$x" | sed 's/&/\\\&/g')
echo "$y"
echo "$v" | sed "s/$v/$y/"
Output:
3 \& 4
3 & 4
answered Sep 8, 2014 at 4:55
Jonathan Leffler
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