append/append-once/overwrite
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How to use the append, append-once, and overwrite to append and replace data in files.
Introduction
[edit]
- Appends a user-provided line to a text file.
- Includes additional sanity testing (checks if the folder where the file resides is writable; checks if the file is readable and writable).
- Offers an easier-to-use interface. [1]
- Write operations are atomic.
- If called as
append-once, it avoids duplicating the same content, should the exact same lines have already been appended earlier.[2] - If called as
overwrite, replaces all of the contents of the file with the provided line. - Its write operation is similar to:
printf "%s\n" "text to append" | sponge -a /file/to/append/to >/dev/null
append is the primary executable. The append-once and overwrite executables are simply symlinks to append. append will check what executable it was called as, and adjust its behavior accordingly.
Target Audience
[edit]
Advanced users only!
If append, append-once, or overwrite are used in a security critical context, it should only be used by people capable of reviewing its relatively short and simple source code.
Syntax
[edit](append|append-once|overwrite) /path/to/file 'line to append'
Example
[edit]append ~/testfile 'some text here'
Exit Codes
[edit]- 0: Success.
- Non-Zero: Failure.
Limitations
[edit]- None known at the time of this writing.
Footnotes
[edit]- ↑
[1] No need to use:
grep- considering special characters in
grep printf- pipe
readlink>/dev/nullredirection.
- ↑
append-oncewas previously implemented as a standalone Bash script, whileappendandoverwritedid not exist. The new implementation is written in Python, fixes limitations, improves error and edge case handling, and provides the two additional utilities.
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