CLI text processing with GNU grep and ripgrep
CLI text processing with GNU grep and ripgrep
The search is on
About the Book
You are likely to be familiar with using a search dialog (usually invoked with the Ctrl+F shortcut) to locate the occurrences of a particular string. The grep command is a versatile and feature-rich version of that search functionality usable from the command line. An important feature that GUI applications may lack is regular expressions, a mini-programming language to precisely define a matching criteria.
This book heavily leans on examples to present features one by one. In addition to command options, regular expressions will also be discussed in detail. Two different implementations are discussed in this book — GNU grep and ripgrep.
Exercises are also included to test your understanding.
Prerequisites
You should be familiar with command line usage in a Unix-like environment. You should also be comfortable with concepts like file redirection and command pipelines.
You are also expected to get comfortable with reading manuals, searching online, visiting external links provided for further reading, tinkering with illustrated examples, asking for help when you are stuck and so on. In other words, be proactive and curious instead of just consuming the content passively.
If you are new to the world of the command line, check out my Computing from the Command Line ebook and curated resources on Linux CLI and Shell scripting before starting this book.
GitHub repo
Visit https://github.com/learnbyexample/learn_gnugrep_ripgrep for markdown source, example files, exercise solutions and other details related to the book.
Interactive exercises
Based on the book contents as well as the exercises, I made an interactive TUI app with 50+ questions. Reference solutions are provided for both GNU grep and ripgrep.
Feedback and Errata
I would highly appreciate it if you'd let me know how you felt about this ebook. It could be anything from a simple thank you, pointing out a typo, mistakes in code snippets, which aspects of the book worked for you (or didn't!) and so on. Reader feedback is essential and especially so for self-published authors.
You can reach me via:
- Issue Manager: https://github.com/learnbyexample/learn_gnugrep_ripgrep/issues
- E-mail: learnbyexample.net@gmail.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/learn_byexample
About the Author
Bundles that include this book
Table of Contents
1. Preface
2. Introduction
3. Frequently used options
4. BRE/ERE Regular Expressions
5. Context matching
6. Recursive search
7. Miscellaneous options
8. Perl Compatible Regular Expressions
9. Gotchas and Tricks
10. ripgrep
11. Further Reading
Other books by this author
The Leanpub 60-day 100% Happiness Guarantee
Within 60 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.
See full terms
80% Royalties. Earn $16 on a $20 book.
We pay 80% royalties. That's not a typo: you earn $16 on a $20 sale. If we sell 5000 non-refunded copies of your book or course for $20, you'll earn $80,000.
(Yes, some authors have already earned much more than that on Leanpub.)
In fact, authors have earnedover $12 millionwriting, publishing and selling on Leanpub.
Learn more about writing on Leanpub
Free Updates. DRM Free.
If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).
Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers) and EPUB (for phones, tablets and Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.
Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.
Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them
