CLI text processing with GNU grep and ripgrep

English | 2023 | 118 Pages | PDF, EPUB | 10 MB

The grep command is a versatile and feature-rich version of search functionality usable from the command line. The most notable feature is regular expressions, a mini-programming language to precisely define a matching criteria.

In this book, you’ll learn about GNU grep and ripgrep with plenty of examples and exercises.

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.