sed to replace variable string in Unix ksh

Question

One of my file abc.txt contains below path as one of the line.

/lz/BEN_BOB.success

It is to be replaced as below

/lz/BEN_B.success

I'm generating these names during runtime hence storing in variables as below.

SUCCESS_FILE=/lz/BEN_BOB.success
NEW_SUCCESS_FILE=/lz/BEN_B.success

I'm using below command to replace but not working.

cat abc.txt | sed "s/$SUCCESS_FILE/$NEW_SUCCESS_FILE/g".

Is it because I have / symbol in variables?

As mentioned it is in korn shell.

Removed cat and use direct sed on filename. Same wrong output — user6197625
– user6197625, Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 11:48
yup, both are equivalent command, just that you didn't need to use cat — Sundeep
– Sundeep, Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 11:52
The answer of @oliv seems right. Can you echo "SUCCESS_FILE=${SUCCESS_FILE}"? Maybe the runtime generation (in a subshell?) went wrong. — Walter A
– Walter A, Commented Sep 8, 2016 at 21:16

oliv · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-08 10:04:41Z

1

You can use another delimiter in your sed command (e.g. | instead of /):

sed "s|$SUCCESS_FILE|$NEW_SUCCESS_FILE|g" abc.txt

answered Sep 8, 2016 at 9:29

oliv

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1 Comment

then please update your question with the real content of file abc.txt