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Tutorial9: Regular Expressions

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{{Admon/caution|DO NOT USE THIS VERSION OF THE LAB. This page will no longer be updated.|'''New version here:''' https://seneca-ictoer.github.io/ULI101/A-Tutorials/tutorial9<br />'''Andrew's students please go here:''' http://wiki.littlesvr.ca/wiki/OPS145_Lab_8}}
=USING REGULAR EXPRESSIONS=
<br>
|- valign="top" style="padding-left:15px;"
|colspan="2" |Course Notes'''Slides:'''<ul><li>Week 9 Lecture 1 Notes:<br>[https://ictwiki.cdot.senecacollege.ca/~murrayuli101/slides/ULI101-9.1.pdf PDF] | [https://wiki.saulcdot.senecacollege.ca/uli101/slides/ULI101-Week99.1.pptx PPTX]</li><li>Week 9 Lecture 2 Notes:<br> [https://wiki.cdot.senecacollege.ca/uli101/slides/ULI101-9.2.pdf PDF] | [https://ictwiki.cdot.senecacollege.ca/~murray.saululi101/uli101slides/ULI101-Week99.2.pptx PPTX]<br></li></ul>
| style="padding-left:15px;" |'''Regular Expressions:'''
* [https://techterms.com/definition/regular_expression#:~:text=A%20regular%20expression%20(or%20%22regex,wildcards%2C%20and%20ranges%20of%20characters.&text=A%20regular%20expression%20can%20be,%2C%20such%20as%20%22app%22. Definition]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression#:~:text=Regular%20expressions%20are%20used%20in,built%2Din%20or%20via%20libraries. Purpose (WIKI)]<br><br>
| style="padding-left:15px;"|'''Linux Commands:'''
* [https://ss64.com/bash/egrep.html egrep]
* [https://www.man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/man.1.html man]
* [https://linux.die.net/man/1/wget wget]
|colspan="1" style="padding-left:15px;" width="30%"|'''Brauer Instructional Videos:'''<ul><li>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2pwLHcvCsU&list=PLU1b1f-2Oe90TuYfifnWulINjMv_Wr16N&index=12 Using grep Command with Regular Expressions]</li></ul>
|}
= KEY CONCEPTS =
<i>A '''regular expression''' … is a sequence of characters that define a search pattern.<br>Usually such patterns are used by string searching algorithms for "find" or<br>"find and replace" operations on strings, or for input validation. </i><br>Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression===Regular Expressions===
===Regular Expressions vs. Filename Expansion=== [[Image:re-1.png|thumb|right|350px|'''Filename expansion symbols''' allow the Linux shell to expand filenames as arguments (referred to as “globbing”).]]<br>In a previous tutorial, you learned that '''filename expansion symbols''' allow the Linux shell to expand filenames as arguments (referred to as “globbing”) for file management commands. This is very useful for managing multiple files sharing similar characteristics such as the same file extension.  ''Filename Expansion symbols'' are used to search, edit and manipulate text and are used with Linux file management commands such as '''ls''', '''rm''', '''mv''', '''cp''', '''cat''', '''less''', '''more''', '''head''', '''tail''', '''sort''', '''uniq''', '''cut''', '''tr''', and '''wc'''.<br><br>[[Image:re-2.png|thumb|right|250px|'''Concept''' of matching a simple pattern of text contained within a text file.]]<i>A '''regular expression''' is a combination of two types of characters: '''literals''' and '''special characters'''.<br>In combination, these characters define a logical pattern. Strings of text can be compared to this pattern<br>to see if they fit the pattern defined by the expressionthere is a match.</i> Reference: https://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/regex/
This usually refers to text that is <u>contained</u> inside a '''file''' or text as a result<br>of issuing Linux commands using a '''Linux pipeline command'''.
===Literal (Simple) Regular Expressions===
[[Image:re-3.png|thumb|right|200px|The simplest A '''simple''' ('''literal''') regular expression is a series of letters and numbers, possibly including white space (tabs or space charactersspaces).]]The simplest regular expression is a series of letters and numbers, possibly including white space (tabs or space charactersspaces), that have no special meaning. Such a <br>A '''simple''' ('''literal''') regular expression consists of ``literals''; that is, normal letterscharacters, which used to match only an identical letter in the data being searchedpatterns.<br><br>Although there are many Linux commands that use regular expressions, the '''grep ''' command is a useful command to learn how to display matches of patterns of strings within text files.<br><br>
For example:
<span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep Linux document.txt</span><br><br>
<br><br>
=== Complex / Extended Regular Expressions ===
'''Complex Regular Expressions'''<br><br>The problem with just using literals or '''simple ''' ('''literal''') regular expressions is that only <u>simple</u> or <u>general</u> patterns are matched.
'''Complex Regular Expressions''' use symbols to help match text for more <u>precise</u> (complex) patterns.<br>The most common complex regular expression symbols are displayed below:<br><br>:'''Anchors: ''' <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">^</span> , <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">$</span><br>Match lines the begin (^) or end ($) with a pattern.<br>:'''Single Character:''' &nbsp; <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">.</span><br>Represents a single character that can be any type of character.<br>:'''Character Class:''' <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">[ ]</span> , <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">[^ ]</span><br>Represents a single character but with restrictions.<br>:'''Zero or More Occurrence:''' <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">*</span><br>Zero or more occurrences of previous character.<br><br>
:*'''Anchors: ''' <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">^</span> , <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">$</span><br>Match lines the begin (^) or end ($) with a pattern.<br><br>:*'''Single Character:''' &nbsp; <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">.</span><br>Represents a single character that can be any type Examples of character.<br><br>:*'''Character Class:''' <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">[ ]</span> , <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">[^ ]</span><br>Represents a single character but with restrictions.<br><br>:*'''Zero or More Occurrence:complex regular expressions''' <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">*</span><br>Zero or more occurrences of previous character.<br><br> Examples of how to use these complex regular expressions with the grep command are displayed below:
<table align="left"><tr valign="top"><td>[[Image:re-4.png|thumb|right|200px|Example of using '''anchors'''.]]</td><td>[[Image:re-5.png|thumb|right|175px|Example of matching by '''character(s)'''.]]</td><td>[[Image:re-6.png|thumb|right|220px|Example of using '''character class'''.]]</td><td>[[Image:re-7.png|thumb|right|200px|Example of matching '''zero or more occurrence of preceding character'''.]]</td></tr></table>
'''Extended Regular Expressions''' consist of additional special characters<br> to “extend” the capability of regular expressions. You must use the '''egrep''' or '''grep -E''' commands<br>in order to properly use extended regular expressions with the grep command.
''Extended Regular Expressions'' consist of additional special characters to “extend”<br>the capability of regular expressions. You must use the '''egrep''' or '''grep -E''' commands<br>in order to properly use extended regular expressions.
:*'''Repetition: {min,max}'''<br>Allows for more precise repetitions. Using braces, you can specify<br>the '''minimum''' and/or '''maximum''' number of repetitions.
:*'''GroupingRepetition: ( )'''<span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">{min,max}</span><br>Perhaps you want to search Allows for repetition for a group of charactersmore precise repetitions. Using braces, a word, or a phase.you can specify<br>You can enclose them within brackets ( ) to specify a groupthe '''minimum''' and/or '''maximum''' number of repetitions.
:*'''or ConditionGroups: |'''<span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">( )</span><br>Can be used with grouping Allows you to match search for repetition for a variety '''group of character(s)characters''', a '''word''', words or phasesa '''phase'''.<br>The | symbol is used to separate the variety of characterYou enclose them within brackets <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">(s) within </span> to specify a '''group'''.<br><br>
Examples :'''or Condition:''' <span style="color:blue;font-family:courier;font-weight:bold;">|</span><br>Can be used with '''groups''' to match a variety of how character(s), words or phases.<br>The | symbol is used to use these complex regular expressions with separate the variety of character(s) within a '''egrepgroup''' command are displayed below:.<br><br>
:Examples of how to use '''extended regular expressions''' with the '''egrep''' command are displayed below:<br><br> <table align="left"><tr valign="top"><td>[[Image:re-8.png|thumb|right|280px|Example of using '''repetition'''.]]</td><td>[[Image:re-9.png|thumb|right|250px|Example of using '''groupinggroups'''.]]</td><td>[[Image:re-10.png|thumb|right|250px|Example of using '''or ''' condition with grouping'''groups'''.]]</td></tr></table>
<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>
=INVESTIGATION 1: SIMPLE &amp; COMPLEX REGULAR EXPRESSIONS=
<span style="color:red;">'''ATTENTION''': This online tutorial will be required to be completed by '''Friday in week 10 by midnight''' to obtain a grade of '''2%''' towards this course</span><br><br> 
In this investigation, you will learn how to use the '''grep''' command with '''simple and complex regular expressions'''<br>to help search for ''patterns'' contained in text files.
# '''Login''' to your matrix account.<br><br>
# Issue a Linux command to '''confirm''' you are located in your '''home''' directory.<br><br>The '''wget''' command is used to download files from the Internet to your shell.<br>This will be useful to download '''text files''' and '''data files''' that we will be using for this tutorial.<br><br># Issue the following linux Linux command to '''downloadcopy''' a text file to ''your '' '''home''' directory from the ULI101 home directory:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">wget <nowiki>https://ict.senecacollege.ca/cp ~murray.saululi101/uli101tutorialfiles/textfile1.txt<~/nowiki></span><br><br># Issue the '''ls''' Linux command to confirm that the text file was downloaded.<br><br># View the contents of the '''textfile1.txt''' file using the '''more''' command and quickly view the contents of see what data is contained in this file.<br><br>Although there are several Linux commands that use regular expressions,<br>we will be using the '''grep''' command for this investigation.<br><br>[[Image:regexps-1.png|thumb|right|250px|Output of '''grep''' command matching simple regular expression "'''the'''" (only lowercase). Notice the pattern matches larger words like "'''their'''" or "'''them'''".]]#Issue the following Linux command to match the pattern "'''the'''" within '''textfile1.txt''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "the" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>Take a few moments to view the output and observe the matched patternpatterns.<br><br># Now, issue Issue the grep Linux command with the <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">-i</span> option to ignore case sensitively:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep -i "the" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>What do you notice is different when issuing this command?<br><br>You will notice that the pattern "'''the'''" is matched including larger words like "'''them'''" and "'''their'''".<br>You can issue the '''grep''' command with the <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">-w </span> option to only match the pattern as a '''word'''.<br><br># Issue the following Linux command:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep -w -i "the" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>You should now see only strings of text that match the word '''"the"''' (upper or lower case).<br><br>Matching literal or simple regular expressions can be useful, but are '''limited'''<br>in what pattens they can match. For example, you may want to<br>search for a pattern located at the '''beginning''' or '''end''' of the string.<br><br>There are other regular expression symbols that provide more '''precise''' search pattern matching.<br>These special characters are known as '''complex''' and '''extended''' regular expressions symbols.<br> In <br>For the remainder of this investigation, we will focus on complex '''complex regular expressions''' and then discuss<br>focus on ''extended regular expressions'' in INVESTIGATION 2.<br><br><table align="right"><tr valign="top"><td>[[Image:regexps-2.png|thumb|right|280px|Anchoring regular expressions at the '''beginning''' of text.]]</td><td>[[Image:regexps-3.png|thumb|right|250px|Anchoring regular expressions at the '''ending''' of text.]]</td></tr></table>
# Issue the following Linux command:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep -w -i "^the" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>The '''^''' symbol is referred to as an '''anchor'''.<br>In this case, it only matches<br>the word "'''the'''" (both upper or lowercase) at the <u>beginning</u> of the string.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux command:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep -w -i "the$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>The '''$''' symbol is used to anchor patterns at the <u>end</u> of the string.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux command to anchor the <u>word</u> "'''the'''"<br>'''simultaneously''' at the <u>beginning</u> and <u>end</u> of the string:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep -w -i "^the$" textfile1.txt </span><br><br>What do you notice?<br><br>Anchoring patterns at both the <u>beginning</u> and <u>ending</u> of strings can greatly assist<br>for more '''precise''' search pattern matching.<br><br>We will now be demonstrate the power '''effectiveness''' of anchoring<u>combining</u><br>combined '''anchors''' with <u>other </u> complex regular expressions symbols.<br><br><table align="right"><tr valign="top"><td>[[Image:regexps-4.png|thumb|right|280px|Anchoring regular expressions using '''period''' symbols at the '''beginning''' of text.]]</td><td>[[Image:regexps-5.png|thumb|right|250px|Anchoring regular expressions using '''period''' symbols simultaneously at the '''beginning''' and '''ending''' of text.]]</td></tr></table># Issue the following Linux command to match strings that '''begin with 3 characters''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^..." textfile1.txt</span><br><br>What do you notice? Can lines that contain '''less than 3 characters''' be displayed?<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to match strings that '''begin <u>and</u> end with 3 characters''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^...$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>What do you notice compared to the previous command?<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to match strings that '''begin with 3 digits''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[0-9][0-9][0-9]" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>What did you notice?<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to match strings that '''end with 3 uppercase letters''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "[A-Z][A-Z][A-Z]$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br><table align="right"><tr valign="top"><td>[[Image:regexps-6.png|thumb|right|220px|Anchoring '''3 digits''' at the '''beginning''' and '''ending''' of text.]]</td><td>[[Image:regexps-7.png|thumb|right|250px|Anchoring '''3 alpha-numeric characters''' at the '''beginning''' and '''ending''' of text.]]</td></tr></table>Did any lines What type of strings match this pattern?<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to match strings that '''consist of only 3 digits''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[0-9][0-9][0-9]$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>What did you notice?<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to match strings that '''consist of only 3 alphanumeric digits''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9]$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>What did you notice?<br><br>The <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">"*"</span> complex regular expression symbol is often confused with the "*" '''filename expansion''' symbol.<br>In other words, it does NOT represent zero or more of '''any character''', but zero or more '''occurrences'''<br>of the character that comes '''before''' the <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">"*"</span> symbol.<br><br># To demonstrate, issue the following Linux command to display '''zero or more occurrences ''' of the letter "'''x'''":<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "x*" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>You will most likely notice most lines of the file is displayed.<br><br># Let's issue a Linux command to display strings that contain '''more than one occurrence ''' of the letter "'''x'''":<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "xx*" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>Why did this work? because the pattern indicates one occurrence of the letter "x",<br>followed by '''zero or MORE occurrences''' of the <u>next</u> letter "x".<br><br>If you combine the complex regular expression symbols <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">".*"</span> it will act like<br>zero or more occurrences of <u>any</u> character (i.e. like <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">"*"</span> did in filename expansion).<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux command to match strings begin and end with a number with nothing or anything inbetween:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[0-9].*[0-9]$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>Using '''simultaneous anchors''' combined with the <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">".*"</span> symbol(s) can help you to refine your search patterns of strings.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux command to display strings that begin with a capital letter,<br>end with a number, and contains a capital X somewhere inbetween:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[A-Z].*X.*[0-9]$" textfile1.txt</span><br><br>Let's look at another series of examples involving searching for strings that only contain '''valid numbers'''.<br>We will use '''pipeline commands''' to both display stdout to the screen and save to files<br>for confirmation of running these pipeline commands when run a '''checking-script''' later in this investigation.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux command to create the '''regexps''' directory: <span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">mkdir ~/regexps</span><br><br>
# Change to the '''regexps''' directory and confirm that you have moved to this directory.<br><br>
# First, issue the following Linux command to download copy another data file called '''numbers1.dat''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">wget <nowiki>https://ict.senecacollege.ca/cp ~murray.saululi101/uli101tutorialfiles/numbers1.dat<~/nowiki>regexps</span><br><br>
# View the contents of the '''numbers.dat''' file using the '''more''' command and quickly view the contents of this file.<br>You should notice '''valid''' and '''invalid''' numbers contained in this file. When finished, exit the more command.<br><br>
# Issue the following linux pipeline command to display only '''whole''' numbers (i.e. no '''+''' or '''-''' sign):<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[0-9]*$" numbers1.dat | tee faulty.txt</span><br><br>You may have noticed that the command '''does not entirely work'''. You may notice an '''empty line'''<br>(which is NOT a whole number). This occurs since the * regular expression symbol represents<br>ZERO or MORE occurrences of a number. You can use an additional numeric character class<br>with the * regular expression symbol to search for one or more occurrences of a number.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux pipeline command to display only whole numbers:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[0-9][0-9]*$" numbers1.dat | tee whole.txt</span><br><br>You should see that this now works.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux pipeline command to display whole positive or negative <u>only</u> '''signed''' integers:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[+-][0-9][0-9]*$" numbers1.dat | tee signed.txt</span><br><br>What did you notice? Positive and negative numbers display, not not '''unsigned''' numbers.<br><br>[[Image:regexps-8.png|thumb|right|300px|Simultaneous '''anchoring''' of regular expressions using '''character class''' and '''zero or more occurrences''' to display '''signed''' and '''unsigned''' integers.]]# Issue the following Linux pipeline command to display only whole numbers<br>(with '''signed''' or without a positive or negative sign)'''unsigned integers''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[+-]*[0-9][0-9]*$" numbers1.dat | tee all.txt</span><br><br>Did this command work?<br><br># Issue the following command to check that you created those hard links: <br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">bash /home/murray.saul/myscripts~uli101/week9-check-1</span><br><br>If you encounter errors, then view the feedback to make corrections, and then re-run the checking script. If you receive a congratulation message that there are no errors, then proceed with this tutorial.<br><br>You can also use the '''grep''' command using ''regular expression'' as a '''filter''' in pipeline commands.<br><br># Issue the following Linux pipeline command:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">ls | grep "[10-9].*dat$"</span><br><br>What did this pipeline display?<br><br># Issue the following Linux pipeline command:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">ls | grep "[a-3z].*txt$"</span><br><br>What did this pipeline display?<br><br>
: Although very useful, '''complex''' regular expressions do NOT <u>entirely </u> solve our problem of displaying only <br> '''valid''' unsigned and signed numbers(not to mention displaying decimal numbers).<br><br>In the next investigation, you will learn how to use '''extended''' regular expressions that will completely solve this issue.<br>
: You can proceed to INVESTIGATION 2.
=INVESTIGATION 2: EXTENDED REGULAR EXPRESSIONS =
<br>In this sectioninvestigation, you will learn how to use '''extended regular expressions''' to help with the '''further refineegrep''' command<br>to further refine your searches when using regular expressionssearch patterns.
# Make certain that you are located in your '''~/regexps''' directory on your ''Matrix'' account.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux command to download copy another data file called '''numbers2.dat''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">wget <nowiki>https://ict.senecacollege.ca/cp ~murray.saululi101/uli101tutorialfiles/numbers2.dat<~/nowiki></span><br><br># View the contents of the '''numbers2.dat''' file using the '''more''' command and quickly view the contents of this file.<br>You should notice ''valid '' and more ''invalid '' numbers contained in this file. When finished, exit the more command.<br><br>[[Image:eregexps-1.png|thumb|right|300px|'''Weakness''' of '''complex''' regular expressions that do not '''limit''' the number of '''positive''' or '''negative''' signs.]]# Issue the following Linux command to display only whole numbers (with '''signed''' or without a positive or negative sign)'''unsigned integers''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[+-]*[0-9][0-9]*$" numbers2.dat</span><br><br>You should notice '''multiple''' '''+''' or '''-''' '''signs''' appear <u>prior</u> to some numbers.<br>This occurs since you are searching or one or MORE occurrences of a + or - sign.<br><br>Using '''extended regular expression''' symbols to specify '''minimum''' and '''maximum''' repetitions: '''{min,max}''' can solve that problem.<br><br># Issue the following Linux command (using extended regular expression symbols)<br>to display only whole numbers (with '''signed''' or without a positive or negative sign)'''unsigned integers''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">grep "^[+-]{0.,1}[0-9]{1,}$" numbers2.dat</span><br><br>'''NOTE:No output will be displayed! Why?''' most likely, there were '''NO results'''.<br><br>This is due to the fact that the '''grep command was NOT issued correctly to use extended regular expression symbols'''.<br>You would need to issue either '''grep -E''' (, or more simply) just issue the '''egrep''' command. The egrep command works with<br>'''all''' regular expression symbols, and should be used in the future <u>instead </u> of the older grep command.<br><br>We will use '''pipeline commands''' to both display stdout to the screen and save to files<br>for confirmation of running these pipeline commands when run a '''checking-script''' later in this investigation.<br><br># Issue the following Linux pipeline command using '''egrep''' instead of ''grep'':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">egrep "^[+-]{0,1}[0-9]{1,}$" numbers2.dat | tee better-number1.txt</span><br><br>[[Image:eregexps-2.png|thumb|right|300px|Using '''extended''' regular expression symbols (such as '''repetition''') to refine matches of ''signed'' and ''unsigned'' integers.]]You should have noticed that the command worked correctly this time because you used the '''egrep''' command.<br><br>'''NOTE:''' In With extended regular expressions, the '''?''' symbol can be used to represent the '''{0,1}''' repetition symbols<br>and the '''+''' symbol can be used to represent the '''{1,}''' repetition symbols<br><br># Issue the following Linux pipeline command using the repetition shortcuts <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">"+"</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">"?"</span>:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">egrep "^[+-]?[0-9]+$" numbers2.dat | tee better-number2.txt</span><br><br>You should have seen the '''same results''', but the extended regular expression required less typingwas required.<br><br>
# Issue the following Linux pipeline command to display '''signed''', '''unsigned''', '''whole''', and '''decimal''' numbers:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">egrep "^[+-]{0,1}[0-9]{1,}[.]{0,1}[0-9]*$" numbers2.dat | tee better-number3.txt</span><br><br>Were all signed and unsigned intergers and decimal numbers displayed?<br><br>
# Issue the follwoing command to check that you correctly issued<br>those ''Linux pipeline commands'': <br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">bash /home/murray.saul/myscripts~uli101/week9-check-2</span><br><br>If you encounter errors, then view the feedback to make corrections, and then re-run the checking script.<br>If you receive a congratulation message that there are no errors, then proceed with this tutorial.<br><br>You can also use extended regular expression symbols for '''grouping'''.<br>For example, you can search for repetitions of GROUPS of characters (like a word)<br>as opposed to just a single character or a GROUP of numbers as opposed to a single digit.<br><br># Issue the following linux pipeline command to download copy another data file called '''words.dat''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">wget <nowiki>https://ict.senecacollege.ca/cp ~murray.saululi101/uli101tutorialfiles/words.dat<~/nowiki></span><br><br># View the contents of the '''words.dat''' file using the '''more''' command and quickly view the contents of this file.<br>You Within this file, you should notice valid and more invalid numbers contained in this filesome lines that contain repetitions of words. When finished, exit the more command.<br><br># Issue the following linux pipeline command to display '''two or more occurrences ''' of the word "the":<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">egrep -i "(the){2,}" words.dat | tee word-search1.txt more</span><br><br>'''NOTE:''' You should '''NOT see any No outputis displayed! Why?'''<br><br>This is due to the fact that a <u>space</u> should be included at the end of the word "'''the'''".<br>Usually words are separated by spaces; therefore, there were no matches since there were not occurrences<br>of "thethe" as opposed to "'''the the'''" (i.e. no space after repetition of the pattern).<br><br># Reissue the previous pipeline command including with the word the followed by a '''space in ''' within the brackets:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">egrep -i "(the ){2,}" words.dat | tee word-search2.txt</span><br><br>[[Image:eregexps-3.png|thumb|right|330px|Using '''extended''' regular expression symbols (such as '''grouping''') to refine matches of repetition of '''words''' (as opposed to ''characters'').]]The <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">"|"</span> (or) symbol (same symbol as "pipe") can be used within the grouping symbols to allow matching of additional groups of characters.<br>Again, it is important to follow the character groupings with the space character<br><br># Issue the following linux pipeline command to search for 2 '''two or more occurrences ''' of the word "'''the '''" <u>or</u> '''two or more occurrences''' of the word "'''and '''":<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">egrep -i "(the |and ){2,}" words.dat | tee word-search3.txt</span><br><br># Issue the following Linux command to check that you correctly issued<br>those ''Linux pipeline commands'' using the '''tee''' command to create those text files:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">bash /home/murray.saul/myscripts~uli101/week9-check-3</span><br><br>If you encounter errors, then view the feedback to make corrections, and then re-run the checking script.<br>If you receive a congratulation message that there are no errors, then proceed with this tutorial.<br><br>Let's issue a Linux '''pipeline''' command using the '''egrep''' command as a '''filter'''<br>using <u>both</u> '''complex''' and '''extended''' regular expressions.<br><br># Issue the following Linux pipeline command:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">ls | egrep "[a-z]{1,}.*[0-9]"</span><br><br>What did this Linux pipeline command display?<br><br>: The '''grep''' and '''egrep''' Linux commands are NOT the only Linux commands that use regular expressions.<br>In the next investigation, you will apply regular expressions to a number of Linux commands <br>that you already learned in this course.
: You can proceed to INVESTIGATION 3<br>
<br>
=INVESTIGATION 3: OTHER COMMANDS THAT USE USING REGULAR EXPRESSIONS =<br>In this sectioninvestigation, you will see how regular expressions can be used with other Linux utilities commands other than '''grep''' or '''egrep'''that can use regular expressions.
# Make certain that you are located in your '''~/regexps''' directory on your ''Matrix'' account.<br><br>
# Let's look at using regular expressions with the '''man''' command.<br>Issue the following linux command :<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">man ls</span><br><br>[[Image:other-re-1.png|thumb|right|300px|Entering '''/sort''' in the '''man''' command can search for the string "'''sort'''".]]
# We want to search for an option that can sort the file listing.<br>Type the following regular expression below and press '''ENTER''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/sort</span><br><br>'''FYI:''' The '''grep''' and '''egrep''' Linux commands contain the regular expressions within quotes,<br>but '''most''' other Linux commands specify regular expressions using forward slashes<br>'''forward slashes''' (e.g. <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/regular expression</span> &nbsp; or &nbsp; <span style="font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/regular expression/</span>).<br><br>
# Scroll throughout the man pages for the ls command to view matches for the pattern "'''sort'''"<br>(You can press '''SPACE''' or key combination '''alt-b''' to move forward and backwards one screen respectively).<br><br>
# Press the letter <span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">q</span> to '''exit''' the ''man'' pages for '''ls'''.<br><br>Let's use regular expressions with the '''moreless''' command.<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to download copy another data file called '''large-file.txt''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">wget <nowiki>https://ict.senecacollege.ca/cp ~murray.saululi101/uli101tutorialfiles/large-file.txt<~/nowiki></span><br><br># View the contents of the '''large-file.txt''' file using the '''more''' command and quickly view the contents of this file.<br><br>[[Image:other-re-2.png|thumb|right|300px|Entering '''/uli101''' in the '''more''' and '''less''' commands command can search for the string display all matches of "'''uli101'''"throughout the text file.]]# Issue the following Linux command to view the contents of the '''large-file.txt''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">more less large-file.txt</span><br><br>#We want to search for a pattern '''uli101''' within this text file.<br>Type the following regular expression and press ENTER:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/uli101</span><br><br>You should see the pattern "uli101" on throughout the second line at the top.<br><br>#Search for the next occurrence of the pattern '''uli101''' by '''re-typing'''<br>the following regular expression and pressing ENTER:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/uli101</span><br><br>you should now see the '''second occurrence''' of this pattern near the toptext file.<br><br># Press the letter <span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">q</span> to exit the '''moreless''' command.<br><br># Try the same search techniques with the '''lessmore''' command.<br><br>Does it work the same for the ''less'' command as it did for the ''more'' command?<br><br>[[Image:other-re-3.png|thumb|right|300px|Entering '''/uli101''' in the '''vi''' command can search for the string "'''uli101'''".]]#Let's learn how to perform a simple '''search and replace''' within the '''vi''' utility <br>by using regular expressions.<br><br># Issue the following Linux command to edit the '''large-file.txt''' file:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">vi large-file.txt</span><br><br>Let's first perform a simple search within this text file.<br><br>
# Press the '''ESC''' key to make certain you are in '''COMMAND''' mode.<br><br>
# Type the following and press '''ENTER''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/uli101</span><br><br>You should move to the '''first occurrence''' of notice the pattern: "'''uli101'''" highlighted for ALL occurrences in this text file.<br><br>Let's '''search ''' for the '''uli101''' pattern, but and '''replace ''' it in capitals (i.e '''ULI101''').<br><br>In vi, to issue a command, you need to enter '''LAST LINE''' mode MODE then issue a command.<br>Let's issue a command from '''LAST LINE mode ''' MODE to search and replace '''uli101''' to '''ULI101'''.<br><br>[[Image:other-re-4.png|thumb|right|500px|In l'''ast line''' MODE in the '''vi''' text editor, issuing a command using regular expressions to convert '''uli101''' to '''ULI101'''.]]# Making certain that you are command mode '''COMMAND''' MODE in vi, <br>type the following and press '''ENTER''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">:%s/uli101/ULI101/g</span><br><br>'''NOTE:''' The letter '''g''' after the replace regular expression represents "'''global'''" and will replace ALL occurrences of uli101 in the text document (as opposed to replacing the first occurrence for every line).<br><br># Type the following (in uppercase letters) and press '''ENTER''':<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">/ULI101</span><br><br>You should notice the pattern "'''ULI101'''" highlighted for ALL occurrences in this text file.<br><br># Navigate throughout the text file to confirm that ALL occurrences of '''uli101 ''' have been <u>replaced </u> with '''ULI101'''.<br><br>
# Save changes to your vi editing session and exit by typing the following and pressing ENTER:<br><span style="color:blue;font-weight:bold;font-family:courier;">:x</span><br><br>
: After you complete the Review Questions sections to get additional practice, then work on your<br>'''online assignment 3'''.
<br><br>
= LINUX PRACTICE QUESTIONS =
simulate a quiz:
https://ictwiki.cdot.senecacollege.ca/~murray.saululi101/uli101files/uli101_command_practice_9a.docx
Your instructor may take-up these questions during class. It is up to the student to attend classes in order to obtain the answers to the following questions. Your instructor will NOT provide these answers in any other form (eg. e-mail, etc).
'''Part A: Display Results from Linux Commands using Simple &amp; Complex Regular Expressions'''
Note the contents from the following tab-delimited file called '''~murray.saul/uli101/cars''':
<pre>
Write the results of each of the following Linux commands using regular expressions for the above-mentioned file.
1. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep plym ~murray.saul/uli101/cars</span><br>2. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep -i fury ~murray.saul/uli101/cars</span><br>3. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep “^[m-z]” ~murray.saul/uli101/cars</span><br>4. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep -i “^[m-z]” ~murray.saul/uli101/cars</span><br>5. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep “3$” ~murray.saul/uli101/cars</span><br>6. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep -i “c.*5$” ~murray.saul/uli101/cars</span><br>
simulate a quiz:
https://ictwiki.cdot.senecacollege.ca/~murray.saululi101/uli101files/uli101_command_practice_9b.docx
Your instructor may take-up these questions during class. It is up to the student to attend classes in order to obtain the answers to the following questions. Your instructor will NOT provide these answers in any other form (eg. e-mail, etc).
'''Part A: Display Results from Linux Commands using Regular Expressions'''
Note the contents from the following tab-delimited file called '''~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt''':
<pre>
Write the results of each of the following Linux commands using regular expressions for the above-mentioned file.
1. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep "^[-+]" ~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt</span><br>2. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep "^[-+]*.[0-9]" ~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt</span><br>3. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">grep "^[+-]?[0-9]" ~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt</span><br> &nbsp; &nbsp;(Why?)<br>4. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">egrep "^[+-]?[0-9]" ~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt</span><br>5. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">egrep "^[+-]?[0-9]+$" ~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt</span><br>6. <span style="font-family:courier;font-weight:bold">egrep "^[+-]?[0-9]+[.]?[0-9]+$" ~murray.saul/uli101/numbers.txt</span><br>
_________________________________________________________________________________ Author: Murray Saul License: LGPL version 3Link: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html _________________________________________________________________________________ 
[[Category:ULI101]]