Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!convex!egsner!swsrv1!toma
From: toma@swsrv1.cirr.com (Tom Armistead)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: easy for some
Message-ID: <1991May8.233803.4485@swsrv1.cirr.com>
Date: 8 May 91 23:38:03 GMT
References: <6686@male.EBay.Sun.COM>
Organization: Software Services: Garland, Tx
Lines: 41

In article <6686@male.EBay.Sun.COM> matthew@gizmo.UK.Sun.COM (Matthew Buller - Sun EHQ - MIS) writes:
>
>I am fairly new to unix, and I have a minor question:-
>problem: to extract text between start and end patterns in a file
>eg:-
>
>file:
>
>pattern1---
>
>stuff
>stuff
>stuff
>
>pattern2---
>
>How do I write a short script (preferably /bin/sh) to extract the information
>between the start and end patterns (pattern1/pattern2) into a file.
>
>I have tried to grok the man page for `sed' but no luck.
>
>Any help would be appreciated.
>
>Tnx
>Matt

You could do this with sed.

$ sed -n '/^pattern1---$/,/^pattern2---$/p' < data_file

One problem with this is that it prints out the start and end parameters.  You
may be able to tell SED not to do this, but I don't know how.  So I use egrep.

$ sed -n '/^pattern1---$/,/^pattern2---$/p' < data_file | \
        egrep -v '^pattern1---$|^pattern2---$'

Tom
-- 
Tom Armistead - Software Services - 2918 Dukeswood Dr. - Garland, Tx  75040
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