On Tue, Oct 24, 2000 at 05:50:23PM +0200, Vee-Eye wrote: > > > > I have a comma delimited ex-database file and I want to replace the commas > > with tabs. I tried using: > > > > sed s/,/\tab/ filename but no go. It was a guess anyway. I tried replacing > > the tab with a * and it worked, but only for first line of items, mleaving > > the rest of the fields with commas. > > > > Any suggestions? > > > You could use tr for this job: > > tr ',' '\t' < file > newfile
just a word of caution: if your ex-database file is in CSV format (as for example used by some M$ programs) then you might get problems, if there are strings in your data containing commas, as in 1,"Smith, Joe",3, ... The tr method replaces *every* comma, so it's a little too simple for the case mentioned above. If you are sure that this cannot happen, then just forget about this mail... -- Erdmut Pfeifer science+computing gmbh -- Bugs come in through open windows. Keep Windows shut! --
