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linuxunixsed

sed with literal string--not input file

This should be easy: I want to run sed against a literal string, not an input file. If you wonder why, it is to, for example edit values stored in variables, not necessarily text data.

When I do:

sed 's/,/','/g' "A,B,C"

where A,B,C is the literal which I want to change to A','B','C

I get

Can't open A,B,C

As though it thinks A,B,C is a file.

I tried piping it to echo:

echo "A,B,C" | sed 's/,/','/g'

I get a prompt.

What is the right way to do it?

Solution

  • You have a single quotes conflict, so use:

    echo "A,B,C" | sed "s/,/','/g"

    If using , you can do too (<<< is a here-string):

    sed "s/,/','/g" <<< "A,B,C"

    but not

    sed "s/,/','/g"  "A,B,C"

    because sed expect file(s) as argument(s)

    EDIT:

    if you use or any other ones :

    echo string | sed ...