BFS(1) BFS(1)
NAME
bfs - big file scanner
SYNOPSIS
bfs [ - ] name
DESCRIPTION
The bfs command is (almost) like ed(1) except that it is
read-only and processes much larger files. Files can be up
to 1024K bytes and 32K lines, with up to 512 characters,
including new-line, per line (255 for 16-bit machines). bfs
is usually more efficient than ed(1) for scanning a file,
since the file is not copied to a buffer. It is most useful
for identifying sections of a large file where csplit(1) can
be used to divide it into more manageable pieces for
editing.
Normally, the size of the file being scanned is printed, as
is the size of any file written with the w command. The
optional - suppresses printing of sizes. Input is prompted
with * if P and a carriage return are typed, as in ed(1).
Prompting can be turned off again by inputting another P and
carriage return. Note that messages are given in response
to errors if prompting is turned on.
All address expressions described under ed(1) are supported.
In addition, regular expressions may be surrounded with two
symbols besides / and ?: > indicates downward search
without wrap-around, and < indicates upward search without
wrap-around. There is a slight difference in mark names:
only the letters a through z may be used, and all 26 marks
are remembered.
The e, g, v, k, p, q, w, =, ! and null commands operate as
described under ed(1). Commands such as ---, +++-, +++=,
-12, and +4p are accepted. Note that 1,10p and 1,10 will
both print the first ten lines. The f command only prints
the name of the file being scanned; there is no remembered
file name. The w command is independent of output
diversion, truncation, or crunching (see the xo, xt and xc
commands, below). The following additional commands are
available:
xf file
Further commands are taken from the named file.
When an end-of-file is reached, an interrupt
signal is received or an error occurs, reading
resumes with the file containing the xf. The xf
commands may be nested to a depth of 10.
xn List the marks currently in use (marks are set by
the k command).
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BFS(1) BFS(1)
xo [file]
Further output from the p and null commands is
diverted to the named file, which, if necessary,
is created mode 666 (readable and writable by
everyone), unless your umask setting (see
umask(1)) dictates otherwise. If file is missing,
output is diverted to the standard output. Note
that each diversion causes truncation or creation
of the file.
: label
This positions a label in a command file. The
label is terminated by new-line, and blanks
between the : and the start of the label are
ignored. This command may also be used to insert
comments into a command file, since labels need
not be referenced.
( . , . )xb/regular expression/label
A jump (either upward or downward) is made to
label if the command succeeds. It fails under any
of the following conditions:
1. Either address is not between 1 and $.
2. The second address is less than the
first.
3. The regular expression does not match
at least one line in the specified range,
including the first and last lines.
On success, . is set to the line matched and a
jump is made to label. This command is the only
one that does not issue an error message on bad
addresses, so it may be used to test whether
addresses are bad before other commands are
executed. Note that the command
xb/^/ label
is an unconditional jump.
The xb command is allowed only if it is read from
someplace other than a terminal. If it is read
from a pipe only a downward jump is possible.
xt number
Output from the p and null commands is truncated
to at most number characters. The initial number
is 255.
xv[digit][spaces][value]
The variable name is the specified digit following
the xv. The commands xv5100 or xv5 100 both
assign the value 100 to the variable 5. The
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BFS(1) BFS(1)
command xv61,100p assigns the value 1,100p to the
variable 6. To reference a variable, put a % in
front of the variable name. For example, using
the above assignments for variables 5 and 6:
1,%5p
1,%5
%6
will all print the first 100 lines.
g/%5/p
would globally search for the characters 100 and
print each line containing a match. To escape the
special meaning of %, a \ must precede it.
g/".*\%[cds]/p
could be used to match and list lines containing
printf of characters, decimal integers, or
strings.
Another feature of the xv command is that the
first line of output from a UNIX system command
can be stored into a variable. The only
requirement is that the first character of value
be an !. For example:
.w junk
xv5!cat junk
!rm junk
!echo "%5"
xv6!expr %6 + 1
would put the current line into variable 5, print
it, and increment the variable 6 by one. To
escape the special meaning of ! as the first
character of value, precede it with a \.
xv7\!date
stores the value !date into variable 7.
xbz label
xbn label
These two commands will test the last saved return
code from the execution of a UNIX system command
(!command) or nonzero value, respectively, to the
specified label. The two examples below both
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BFS(1) BFS(1)
search for the next five lines containing the
string size.
xv55
: l
/size/
xv5!expr %5 - 1
!if 0%5 != 0 exit 2
xbn l
xv45
: l
/size/
xv4!expr %4 - 1
!if 0%4 = 0 exit 2
xbz l
xc [switch]
If switch is 1, output from the p and null
commands is crunched; if switch is 0 it is not.
Without an argument, xc reverses switch.
Initially switch is set for no crunching.
Crunched output has strings of tabs and blanks
reduced to one blank and blank lines suppressed.
SEE ALSO
csplit(1), ed(1), umask(1).
DIAGNOSTICS
? for errors in commands, if prompting is turned off.
Self-explanatory error messages when prompting is on.
ORIGIN
AT&T V.3
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