ex editor question 2

[vlz]

Hi,
I need to delete the last character in a file by using
ex commands.
I know for example how to delete the last line by this command:
echo "d\nw\nq"|ex my_file

How can I do this for a character?

Thanks in advance,
Vadim

 

[Ogzilal]

Hi,

Use this instruction sequence

ex /path/to/your_file.txt 1>/dev/null 2>&1 <<- EOEX
        $
        s/.$//
        wq
EOEX

 

[vlz]

Thanks for your help!
It works fine for printable characters.
How can I delete non-printable character in case I know
only HEX code of it?

 

[Ogzilal]

Hi,

How does the characters present in the file (upper/lower hexa) ?
The non printable are located everywere in the file ?
If possible, post a part of the file wil help.

 

[vlz]

I need to delete "new line - LF(hex=0A)" character that was added after
"end of file - SOH(hex=01)" character.
Please see example:
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 0A

 

[PHV]

ex isn't a binary editor.
You may consider to use dd to copy all but the last character.

Hope This Helps, PH.
Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884 or FAQ181-2886

 

[bigoldbulldog]

If you have the xxd command you can try

xxd -p /input/file | sed 's/..$//' | xxd -r -p

or shell out of ex, e.g.:

ex -s /data/file <<EOF
%!xxd -p
\$s/..$//
%!xxd -r -p
w
q
EOF

Note: you may have to escape the '$' char in your shell.

Cheers,
ND