This is a script I use whenever I need to do search and replace in a bunch of files. It was meant as a quick hack, but since I does exactly what I need, I continue to use it (always make a backup of the original files in case something goes wrong).
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
#
# More scripts and tips can be found at
# http://www.edlin.org/
#
# Search and replace in several files
#
# I throw this file in my ~/bin/
# Edit the variables $search, $replace and perhaps you want to change the globbing
# then I jump to the directory with the files and just execute msr.pl (make sure that ~/bin is in your $PATH)
use strict;
my @infiles = glob("*.html");
my $search ='dilbert';
my $replace ='wally';
# Here we go.........
foreach my $file (@infiles){
print "Processing $file\n";
open(FH,$file) || die "Cannot load $file";
my @lines=<FH>;
close(FH);
my $match=0;
foreach my $line (@lines){
if($line =~ s/$search/$replace/g){
$match=1;
}
}
if($match){
print "...Saving $file\n";
open(FS,">$file") || die "Cannot save $file";
print FS @lines;
close(FS);
}
}
output
when hacking some scripts it is useful to use $0 when printing out stuff, that way you can figure out which scripts that generate the output if you end up having scripts that use others scripts etc.
print "$0: Some output from script $0\n";
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