grep command to serch to word in file

grep (don't ask why it is called grep)


grep is one of many standard UNIX utilities. It searches files for specified words or patterns. First clear the screen, then type

% grep science science.txt

As you can see, grep has printed out each line containg the word science.

Or has it ????

Try typing

% grep Science science.txt

The grep command is case sensitive; it distinguishes between Science and science.

To ignore upper/lower case distinctions, use the -i option, i.e. type

% grep -i science science.txt

To search for a phrase or pattern, you must enclose it in single quotes (the apostrophe symbol). For example to search for spinning top, type

% grep -i 'spinning top' science.txt

Some of the other options of grep are:

-v display those lines that do NOT match

-n precede each matching line with the line number

-c print only the total count of matched lines

Try some of them and see the different results. Don't forget, you can use more than one option at a time. For example, the number of lines without the words science or Science is

% grep -ivc science science.txt