[NTLUG:Discuss] searching text in all files for match

[Cameron Moore]

Try this:

  find . -type f | perl -lne 'print $_ if -T;' | xargs grep 'whatever'

Enjoy

* fredjame at concentric.net (Fred James) [2002.06.05 22:39]:
> Warning: In UNIX everything is a file.  Time aside (and I admit that 
> time can be a problem), the only serious issue I have with any of these 
> solutions is what happens when they run into "different" files - stuff 
> that ain't just text.  They can get locked, error out, or if the output 
> is redirected to a file, they can even fill all available space.  This 
> from actual testing this afternoon.  That means you will need some means 
> of protecting the processes from "different" files, such as searching 
> only directories that contain "safe" files.  Don't just turn it lose on 
> your whole file structure.
> 
> kbrannen at gte.net wrote:
> >Fred James wrote:
> >
> >>Recap:
> >>find . -type f | xargs file | grep -i text | cut -f1 -d: | xargs grep 
> >>"search for this"
> >
> >Just for fun I'll throw this in...  Stick with this first one as it has 
> >better performance.  The reason being is it will cause many fewer 
> >fork/execs (threads, processes, whatever you want to call them :-) and 
> >if you have many files which match, those extra milliseconds add up 
> >quickly.  The "find dir -exec" version will fork off a new process for 
> >every file.  Read the man page on xargs if this doesn't make sense.
> >
> >>
> >>find / -type f -print -exec fgrep "text to find" {} \;
> >>
> >>find . -exec grep -l 'text to search for' {} \;

-- 
Cameron Moore
/ Berkely, CA:  It's like taking a tour \
\    of a sewer in a glass-bottom boat. /